The Priestess Midoriko
by ArcaneWeapon
Summary: Everyone knows of how the Shikon no Tama was formed, but no one knows the story of the woman who created it. This is her story, the story that takes place centuries before Inuyasha was even born. This is the story of the Priestess Midoriko. Dark.
1. The Dream

**The Priestess Midoriko**

**An Inuyasha Fanfiction**

**By: Arcane Weapon**

**Author's Note: The idea for this fic came to me out of nowhere. I'd been thinking of writing an Inuyasha fic for a while, but for some reason I just didn't want to write a story about Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, etc… I love the characters, but I guess I just couldn't come up with a way to use them that someone hadn't already done. Then when I was re-watching an episode of the anime specifically about the Shikon no Tama, I realized that there was hardly any back-story to it. A single name is provided along with a minor story and that's it. As always I had trouble coming up with a genre for the fic. Right now it stands at General/Action & Adventure, but General may change to Angst in the future, I'm not sure. I hope that this fic will be an enjoyable explanation of the past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Midoriko, she belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, or Enju, she belongs to Sunrise or Viz or something. Also, the line where Seikai explains naobi is taken word for word from Miroku and Sango so I don't own that either. All the other characters, however, are my creations.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Dream**

It was the same dream again. She had no idea how, or even why, but twice a month for the past six months she always had exactly the same dream. In it she was fully aware that she was dreaming, everything appeared crystal clear unlike her other dreams which usually seemed as if they were viewed though a thin piece of silk. She could also feel pain.

As usual the dream started with her standing alone in the middle of a grassy field under a cloudless blue sky. She was in her priestess attire, a white robe with sleeves down to her hands and a long pink-red skirt worn over it, barely showing her sandaled feet. Her long black hair flowed freely down her back, barely passing her waist.

She gazed out at the horizon, waiting, knowing what was about to happen and yet not trying to escape. She had tried to escape in the past, tried many times and always failed. Now she simply waited. As expected, the entire horizon around her slowly darkened. They were coming.

After a few moments she was able to make them out, their scales, claws, fangs, wings, and always the ever-burning hatred in their eyes. The countless horde of demons drew closer and closer.

She began to mentally prepare herself for what was coming even though she knew it was futile. No matter how many times it happened she was sure she could never prepare for it. To her surprise something happened this time that had never happened before. She noticed a faint, barely discernable pink glow surrounding her entire body. She was confused, the past twelve times she'd had the dream she was sure nothing like this had occurred, why was it changing now?

The first blow jerked her out of her thoughts.

A demon's claws sliced across her back, cutting through her hair and clothes and ripping into her soft flesh. Against her will she let out a scream of agony. She hated that scream, that small sign of weakness. Always she promised herself she wouldn't scream, and yet she always did. Thankfully it didn't last very long until everything was blackness.

Was it a memory from a past life or perhaps a prediction of the future? Or was it simply a curse?

* * *

"Midoriko, its time for breakfast!" her mother called out, waking her up and bringing her back to the real world.

A light sheen of sweat covered her entire body, causing the shift she slept in to cling to her skin. Instead of heeding her mother's call, Midoriko lay there thinking about what had happened.

_That pink glow… It was so faint, but I'm sure it was there! But why? Did something I do cause it? Is the dream… trying to tell me something?_

"Midoriko!" her mother called out again, breaking her train of thoughts. "Your food's getting cold!"

"Sorry Mother, I'm coming!" she replied as she crawled out of her bed.

She peeled off her sweat-stained shift and hung it up to dry before walking over to a small bowl under the window, where she splashed some clean water from it on her face.

_I wish I had the time to take a bath, but I suppose that will have to wait until later._

Not wanting to worry her mother anymore, Midoriko hurriedly tossed on a clean shift followed by her priestess' robes and walked to the dining room.

"Ah, there you are," her mother said with a smile as she saw her daughter enter the room.

Midoriko returned her mother's smile as she sat down beside her and took a small sip of her tea. It was slightly colder then she would have preferred, but she knew that was her own fault.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting Mother," Midoriko said contritely.

"Now, now, none of that," her mother said, "it's not like being a little late for breakfast is a big deal. What I'm more worried about is your beautiful hair."

"My hair?" Midoriko asked, slightly confused.

"Didn't you notice? It's all tangled up, did you have a bad night's sleep?"

_Of course, after the dream it's always horribly tangled. I was so distracted by that glow I forgot to brush it. But how do I explain that to Mother, I refuse to tell her about the dream and make her worry!_

"Y...yes," Midoriko replied hesitantly, "I had trouble falling asleep last night and I guess I tossed and turned too much…"

"Let me brush it for you while you eat your meal, we don't want you to be late for your training with Master Seikai."

"Thank you, Mother," Midoriko said before beginning to eat, glad that her mother hadn't asked any more questions. She hated the lie, but she knew her mother already had too many things to worry about without adding another.

She finished eating at the same time her mother finished brushing her hair and said another quick thank you before excusing herself to leave for the temple. As she left her house she saw to her left that their neighbor, the potter Enju, was already out firing up her kiln.

"Good morning Midoriko," Enju called out when she saw her as well.

"Good morning Enju, I'd love to stay and chat, but I really must hurry to Master Seikai."

"I wouldn't want to make you late," Enju replied smiling, "come and see me later though, it's been a while since we sat down and talked."

Midoriko smiled and nodded before hurrying to the temple on the other side of the village. When she arrived, she stopped just outside the entrance and caught her breath before walking in. Inside she saw her master sitting on the floor before the small shrine praying, and quietly walked a few steps behind him.

"Please pardon my lateness Master," she said quietly, looking down at her feet.

She heard the rustling of his robes as he stood up and turned to face her, and then felt his hand under her chin gently raise her head to look up into his brown eyes.

"I can sense that you are troubled as well as see it in your eyes Midoriko, is there something you wish to ask me?" Seikai questioned softly.

Midoriko hesitated slightly before responding. "Have I… changed lately?"

"Changed? In what way? I don't understand what your asking," Seikai said confused.

"I'm not really sure myself," Midoriko replied, "I was just wondering if you had noticed something."

"Well your spiritual powers have been increasing lately, but other then that you seem like the same girl who began training under me thirteen years ago, just grown up now."

_Is that it? Was that pink glow due to my increased spiritual powers?_

"One more thing Master, have you ever heard of a priestess… glowing?" she asked.

"Glowing? No, I never have, where did you see or hear of this?" he questioned.

"In a dream," Midoriko reluctantly replied, knowing she could never lie to her master.

"Ahhh, dreams," Seikai replied, smiling. "Dreams are nothing to worry yourself over, they are simply distractions of the mind while sleeping. They mean nothing."

Midoriko frowned slightly._ You're wrong Master. I'm sure my dream is no mistake. My dream means something. I know it._

Midoriko hadn't told even her master about the dream, she knew that he would be the most logical person to talk to about it, but for some reason she wanted to keep it private. After hearing what he had just said she was glad that she hadn't told him.

"Enough of this, though," Seikai said firmly, bringing her out of her thoughts. "We will continue your lessons from where we left off last, do you remember were that was?"

"Of course," replied Midoriko as they walked over to a set of cushions and sat down facing each other. "We were talking about the four spirits: kushimitama, nigimitama, aramitama, and sakimitama."

"Very good, and they stand for…?" Seikai prompted her.

"Kushimitama is the spirit of wisdom, nigimitama is the spirit of friendship, aramitama is the spirit of courage, and sakimitama… is the spirit of love."

"You hesitate on sakimitama, why is this?"

"Are priestess' not forbidden to love Master? This is what confuses me."

Seikai smiled as he responded, "Yes, it is true that a priestess is forbidden from loving another. However, a priestess is not forbidden from love."

Midoriko looked at Seikai in confusion, "I'm afraid I don't quite follow you Master."

"It's quite simple. You are forbidden from loving one man because that love distracts, it makes you lose focus on the fact that you must love everything with all your heart. You must love your mother, the sky, the trees, everything in the world the same amount to achieve the true balance of sakimitama."

"I must love everything in the world the same?" Midoriko asked, surprised.

"What of the terrible summer storm that comes and ruins the roads and destroys houses?" she asked, trying to come up with an example of something impossible to love.

"Do not forget that while the storm destroys the houses and roads it also floods the rice fields with rain, providing us with the food we need to survive. The houses and roads can always be rebuilt."

Midoriko frowned as she saw his point and tried to come up with something else. "What of demons? Am I supposed to love demons as well?"

Seikai frowned deeply before responding, "Now that is a good question. The answer is both yes and no. I suppose it would be best for me to rephrase my statement as 'you must love everything _good_ in this world the same amount'. You must remember that not all demons are evil."

"Thank you Master, I believe I understand sakimitama much better now."

Seikai nodded before continuing, "These four spirits combined form the soul of a person, housed inside their heart. When the four spirits work together in harmony it is called naobi and the human heart is filled with goodness. When somebody does a bad deed the four spirits energize evil and the human loses his way. In other words, a soul can turn good or bad and this transformation can happen within a human's soul or a demon's soul."

"And you Master? Have you attained naobi?" Midoriko questioned.

"No, no I have not reached it… It is something to be strived for, but something that will never be attained." Seikai fell silent and stared off into space after finishing.

Realizing that she had inadvertently upset her master Midoriko prepared to apologize, but was cut off before she could.

"I believe that will be enough for today. Please take the rest of the day off to think over what you have learned this morning."

Deciding it would be best to just drop the subject entirely Midoriko thanked Seikai. "I promise I will not be late tomorrow Master," she said before bowing and preparing to leave.

"Is tomorrow not your birthday Midoriko? We will withhold the next lesson for another day so you may enjoy yourself and relax tomorrow."

_My birthday! Of course, how could I have forgotten?_

Not wanting to disturb Seikai since he had returned to his prayers Midoriko said a silent thank you and left the temple.

As she was walking leisurely back to her house, enjoying the warm feeling of the sun and thinking about what she had learned, she was surprised when someone grabbed her from behind and covered her eyes with their hand. Midoriko began to struggle, trying to escape from her captor, until she heard a small giggle behind her.

"Guess who it is," a girlish voice asked playfully from behind her.

"Sayo! You sacred the spirits out of me!" Midoriko exclaimed.

"You always look so serious whenever you come out of the temple, I couldn't help myself," Sayo explained as she removed her hand and moved to walk alongside her friend. "Sorry," she added as an afterthought.

"Don't worry about it," Midoriko replied, smiling over at her. "Just promise not to do it again, okay?"

Sayo was the same age as Midoriko and was her best friend. Today she was dressed up in a light blue kimono with orange fishes spread across it. Her black hair was much shorter then Midoriko's and done up in a ponytail.

"Yah, sure, so what were you talking about this time anyways?"

"Love," Midoriko replied, not really thinking about her answer.

"Ooo, love!" exclaimed Sayo. "I thought you were forbidden to fall in love!"

Midoriko winced, regretting her mistake. "Look, Sayo, it's really complicated and I don't want to try and explain it now okay? So can we just drop the subject?"

Realizing she'd upset her friend, Sayo nodded before linking her arm with Midoriko's. "Common, I want to show you something!" she said, dragging her friend in a different direction then her house.

"Where are we going Sayo?" Midoriko asked.

"You're you going to have to wait and see," Sayo giggled.

Midoriko laughed and relaxed, there was no point in worrying over the dream or what had upset Seikai. She had the rest of the day off and tomorrow was her birthday.

After a while the sound of clashing swords caught her attention, causing her to cut off her idle chatter with Sayo and come to a halt.

"Sayo, why are we going to the training grounds?" she asked. From the direction they had been traveling in she was pretty sure this was where they were going, but she didn't understand why.

Sayo's only response was another giggle and a tug on her arm urging her to start moving again.

Letting out a small sigh Midoriko followed her friend until they reached the edge of the grounds where they stopped. Toshu, the villages' weapon master was in the middle of a training session with about ten men. Noticing the girls approach he glanced over and frowned, but was too busy to go over to them.

"Sayo, why are we here? You saw the look from Toshu, he doesn't want us to distract them."

Sayo ignored her question and pointed to one of the men closest to them who was currently practicing his sword technique. "Look."

"Yes Sayo, I see, they're training," Midoriko said, slightly annoyed. "I don't know about you, but I don't want Toshu mad at me."

Still ignoring her Sayo kept pointing, "No, look at _him_."

Midoriko glanced at the man again, getting more annoyed at how Sayo was behaving. He was of average height, had short brown hair, and seemed to be quite good with the sword in his hands. "What about him?"

"His name is Kokichi, isn't he handsome?" Sayo asked dreamily.

Midoriko took a step back and blinked several times at her friend in disbelief.

_Did she seriously bring me out here just so she could fawn over some guy she met?_

"Sayo, I'm glad you have a boyfriend, but now is not the time and place," she explained, gesturing at Toshu who was now glaring daggers at the two of them as most of the men had become distracted by their presence.

At these words Sayo's face turned bright red and she whirled around to face Midoriko. "He's not my boyfriend!" Sayo exclaimed, still blushing furiously.

"You can explain as we walk, Toshu looks like he's about ready to halt practice and come over here."

Sayo finally tore her eyes away from Kokichi and noticed that Toshu did indeed look rather upset. Deciding that they had been here long enough, she grabbed Midoriko's hand and they hurriedly walked away.

Glancing over at Sayo and deciding that she wasn't going to start explaining Midoriko prompted her with a question. "So, who is he? I've never seen him around before."

"No one really knows. He showed up at the village gates about a week ago, covered in blood. Demon blood."

"Demon blood?! What happened, how did I not hear about this already?" Midoriko asked in shock.

Sayo glanced over at her, "I think it was around the time you and Master Seikai were out in the forest collecting and identifying medicinal herbs. By the time you two got back the news had mostly calmed down so I guess that's why you never heard about it."

"So what happened?"

"He said that his village was overrun by demons, everyone died except him. Ever since he's been here all he's done is train with Toshu."

_Another demon attack… They've been increasing in number lately, but never this severe before. Is it come kind of sign?_

"So he's been here a week, he can't be training _all_ the time. Why haven't you talked to him and gotten to know him yet if you like him?"

"It's not that easy," Sayo replied, irritated.

"Oh? Why not?"

"You would never understand!" Sayo snapped.

Midoriko knew Sayo didn't intend it, but her words cut her deeply. "Your right Sayo, I never will," she replied sadly.

"Midoriko… you know I…"

"I understand Sayo. Just please leave me alone for now. I want to take a bath and then meditate, I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Yah, okay Midoriko… I'm sorry," Sayo finished as she walked away from her friend to her own house.

_Thus will I be ever reminded of the difference between a priestess and a normal woman._

* * *

"You look even deeper in thought now then when you left your house this morning," a voice said as she neared her house, "if such a thing is even possible."

Midoriko glanced over and saw Enju still sitting in front of her kiln. The woman gestured for her to join her and Midoriko walked over to sit next to her.

"What is troubling you Midoriko? Bear too many burdens on your back and it's sure to break."

The saying brought a small smile to Midoriko's lips. "Thank you Enju, I was just thinking about a conversation I just had with Sayo about love."

"Ahh, a rather touchy subject around a priestess, yes?"

"Yes," Midoriko replied softly, looking down at the ground.

"Do you envy her, envy me, for being free to love whomever we will?" Enju asked, resting a hand gently on her back in comfort.

"Envy?" Midoriko asked, confusion entering her voice. "No, I do not envy you or anyone else. We each live our own lives and we are each free to make our own decisions. I have things that you shall never have just as you have things I never will. Each and every person lives their own life and no one else can judge them based upon that."

"The answer of a true Priestess."

Midoriko frowned.

"I do not say that in jest, Midoriko, your answer is your own and perfect."

"Thank you Enju, it is always comforting to talk with you when I'm troubled. It's almost hard to believe there's only a gap of two years between us sometimes."

Enju let out a laugh at this statement. "Are you saying I sound like a woman twice my age?" she asked playfully.

"No! Of course not," Midoriko laughed. "You know I think of you as an older sister."

"And you are a wonderful younger sister. Here, let me give you your birthday present a little early."

Midoriko looked on eagerly as Enju stood up and walked over to a small table where she picked up a wooden box.

"I just finished it today," Enju stated happily as she handed over the box. "Go on, open it!"

Midoriko took the lid off and looked inside, a gasp of surprise escaped her lips when she saw what was in it.

"Oh my Kami, it's beautiful!" exclaimed Midoriko in pleasure as she took the small clay statue of a cat with two tails out of the box. It was painted yellow with black markings on its feet and tails and a peculiar one right on its forehead.

"I read a story of a mythical cat demon who looked like this and just had to make a statue of it for you, I hope you like it."

"Like it? I love it! Thank you Enju!" Midoriko exclaimed as she set the cat on the table carefully before hugging her friend. "What does that mark on its head represent?" she asked. "I've never seen a symbol of four lines spaced like that before."

"To be honest I don't know," Enju replied, slightly puzzled. The inspiration for it just struck me right at the end when I thought I was finished. I hope you don't mind it."

"No, not at all," Midoriko responded slowly, unable to shake the feeling that somehow the mark seemed… familiar in some way. "I like it."

"Well, are you going to name it?" Enju asked playfully.

"Hmm, your right. A beautiful cat needs a beautiful name. How about… Kirere?"

"Kirere, I like it," Enju said with a smile.

"If you'll excuse me I'd like to go put Kirere in my room before I go to the springs to take a bath, thank you again so much,"

"Of course, go and get cleaned up, we can always celebrate more tomorrow." Enju gave her another quick hug before going back to her kiln.

Midoriko picked Kirere up and walked into her house, glancing around for her mother.

_Hmm, she must still be out getting food for tomorrow,_

Once she got to her room she placed Kirere on the table next to the washbowl before grabbing a towel and leaving the house through the backdoor. She followed a decently well-worn path through the grass to the edge of the forest and continued in to where the hot springs awaited her at the end.

* * *

**Clarifications: 1). Kirere is pronounced Ki-ray-ray, not Ki-le-le or Ki-ree-ree. This is_ not _me misspelling Kirara, this will be better explained in Chapter 3. 2). The symbol on Kirere's forehead is the same as the symbol on Midoriko's forehead if you look at a picture of her. At this point in the story, however, Midoriko doesn't have that mark yet, and doesn't know what it means. 3). Enju was introduced in Episode 92 of the anime, "Plot of the Waking Dead" in case you were wondering where I got her from. She's not in the manga for those of you who have only read that and not seen the anime.**

**End Notes: Well that's the first chapter, I know not a ton of stuff happened, but I needed to get everyone introduced, the action will pick up, I promise. Plus I was writing it on the fly so I didn't really have any idea of what was coming next. For example, that dream? Yah, that wasn't planned at all when I first thought of the fic and then when I started writing it suddenly became the main focus of the story. Anyways, there's only one other major character to introduce and he'll be showing up in the next chapter, I can't wait to write him. So I hope you liked the start of this fic (please leave a review letting me know what you think! ), and I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**


	2. Birthday Presents

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko or Enju, all the other characters are mine though, especially Ukaran.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Birthday Presents**

Midoriko woke up feeling refreshed after a dreamless night of sleep. It seemed that whenever she didn't have that dreaded dream she had no dreams at all. She was rather surprised, however, that her mother's call hadn't woken her up, she usually slept until breakfast was ready.

_I suppose I did go to bed rather early…_

* * *

After finishing her bath in the hot spring the day before, Midoriko had gone deeper into the forest along a path only she knew of until she reached her private clearing. This was her favorite spot to meditate and she had done so for quite a while yesterday. After what she guessed to be about four hours she headed back home, ate an early dinner with her mother, and proceeded to fall asleep.

* * *

Curious as to the time Midoriko glanced at the window in her room to try and guess about how early in the morning it was. To her surprise, bright light was leaking through the curtains indicating that it was far later into the day then she had expected.

Worried now as to why her mother hadn't woken her up, Midoriko jumped out of bed and quickly changed into her clothes, stopping to smile at Kirere briefly as she washed her face.

Once she was dressed she hurried to the dining room, hoping to find her mother.

"Surprise!" Sayo, Enju, and her mother yelled together as she entered the room.

Completely taken by surprise, Midoriko let out a small squeak and jumped backwards, one hand over her racing heart and the other over her mouth.

"You guys scared me to death!" she exclaimed, trying to sound serious but failing miserably since they were all laughing at her reaction and she couldn't help but join in.

Once the four of them managed to get their laughter under control they sat down at the table and began to dig into the mountain of food that Midoriko's mother had cooked.

"Thank you guys for already making this day wonderful," Midoriko said once she had finished eating. "I couldn't have asked for a better start to my eighteenth birthday."

"It would have been even better if you had seen the look on your face when you came through that door," Enju teased.

Midoriko playfully slapped her arm and joined in with the laughter once again.

_It feels so good to laugh like this with the people in my life important to me. It's been far too long since I've been this relaxed and happy._

"Thank you, everyone. What you have already given me this morning is more of a present then I could ever ask for," Midoriko said sincerely.

"Hah, don't think that's going to get you out of present giving!" Sayo said as she reached behind her and placed something in a bag on the table, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I have something for you as well," her mother said as she too placed a bag on the table.

After a moment when it became clear that Enju wasn't going to place a present on the table Sayo confronted her. "Don't you have something for Midoriko as well Enju?"

Enju smiled softly at her before replying. "I gave Midoriko her present yesterday as she seemed rather down when she got home."

"Oh…" Sayo said softly, understanding what Enju was talking about.

"It's a beautiful cat statue!" Midoriko exclaimed, trying to brighten the mood. "Hold on and I'll go grab it." She quickly got up and grabbed Kirere from her room before returning to the table and showing it to Sayo and her mother.

"Oh my Kami! You made this Enju?!" Sayo exclaimed, eyes wide, when she saw Kirere.

"It's beautiful…" Midoriko's mother whispered softly.

Enju blushed softly at the praise and Midoriko smiled over at her. "I know, I love her. Her name's Kirere."

Sayo eagerly pushed the bag in front of her across the table. "Here, open my present too, I hope you like it."

Midoriko smiled at her friend and reached into in the bag. To her surprise she felt something incredibly soft. Like silk.

_Surely you didn't get me…_

"A kimono!" Midoriko exclaimed in surprise as she pulled it out of the bag, trying to feign joy.

_When will I ever wear this Sayo? A priestess' robes serve to mark her so that those around her know who she is. For a priestess to don a kimono would be saying that she did not want to be recognized, thus denying her entire life's work. Nevertheless it is the thought that counts._

"It's beautiful," she said smiling at her friend as she stood up and held the kimono in front of her. It was a light shade of blue with colorful flowers of all types splayed across it.

"Won't you try it on?" asked Sayo hopefully.

"Um… maybe later Sayo," Midoriko responded hesitantly, inwardly cringing at the thought. To tell the truth she had no idea how to even wear one, she had worn nothing but the robes of a priestess since she was five years old.

Glancing quickly at her mother's and Enju's faces she could see the confusion hidden behind fake smiles; she was thankful that Sayo didn't seem to notice.

"And what did you get me mother?" Midoriko asked as she reached over and grabbed the bag in front of her mother, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that was starting to form.

She pulled a pair of firm, sturdy sandals out of the bag and this time her eyes lit up with true happiness. "Oh mother, they're wonderful! Thank you!" Midoriko exclaimed as she turned to her mother and gave her a hug.

"Master Seikai told me that you'd most likely be going on long trips in the near future so I figured you could use a new pair," her mother explained with a smile.

_Long trips? Has my training really reached that point already?_

This time it was Sayo's turn to be confused. Midoriko could clearly read it on her face that she couldn't understand how mere sandals could be so much more desirable then a silk kimono.

"Thank you all so much, you've given me more then you could know," Midoriko stated, smiling happily around the table. "Now if you'll pardon me I actually need to run out for a while to talk with someone, a sort of present to myself I suppose," she continued.

The three women gave her confused looks, but nodded that she was certainly free to leave. Midoriko stood up and started to leave the room, as she walked out she called back, "Sayo and Enju, I'm sure mother is going to make far too much food for the two of us to eat for dinner, I'd love it if you could be here for that as well!"

Once outside Midoriko headed in the direction she had returned home from the previous day. During her meditations she had made up her mind, now it was time to go through with her plan.

* * *

When she reached the training grounds she was glad to find that training for the day had ended. Knowing where she would find Toshu she headed straight for the small house in the middle of the grassy field.

"Priestess Midoriko!" Toshu exclaimed in surprise when she stepped into the house. He quickly stood up and gave her a slight bow of respect.

"Is my presence here really that surprising?" she asked, amused.

"Priestess, you're always welcome here except while I'm in the middle of training." The slight emphasis he put on the final part of his statement made it clear he was talking about what had happened yesterday.

Midoriko blushed slightly at the reminder. "Allow me to apologize for Sayo's and my behavior the other day, she simply wanted to show me the man whose arrival I happened to miss. We had no intention of disrupting your practice."

"Err, don't worry about it," he muttered, now embarrassed that she had actually apologized to him. "To be honest though," he continued, composing himself once more and looking back at her, "I'm not too fond of Kokichi."

"Oh? Why not?" Midoriko asked in confusion.

"He's too in love with his sword. It's hard to explain, but I just get this unsettling feeling about him. His entire village was wiped out and yet he was the only survivor? Perhaps I'm just a suspicious old man."

"Are you suggesting he doesn't have the skill to slay as many demons as it would have taken to survive?"

"Oh no, he has the skill alright. The boy is far too good with that sword of his."

"And yet he's training under you meaning that he has more to learn."

"There's always more to be learned about the blade, few can ever say that they have truly mastered it. Not even I would go as far to say that. But enough about Kokichi, surely you did not come here to talk about him?"

"No," Midoriko stated, dismissing the notion with a flick of her hand. "I came here to ask you to teach me the art of swordsmanship," she continued, as if it were the most reasonable request in the world.

"P...priestess! Surely you can't be serious?"

"I am," Midoriko said frowning slightly. "It is not unusual for a priestess to learn to use a weapon, I have read about it happening many times in the past."

"Yes, but isn't it usually a bow?" Toshu asked, trying to find an excuse.

"Perhaps," Midoriko replied idly, "but I have no interest in a bow, I wish to learn the sword. Do you refuse to teach me?" she asked sternly.

"No… priestess," Toshu sighed in defeat. "Very well, follow me and we'll find you a weapon."

"Thank you Toshu," she responded sincerely as she followed him into a room with weapons lining the walls. Disregarding the other weapons, she walked over to the swords and began to inspect them. She herself was unsure as to why it had to be a sword, it just felt… right.

"This one," she said pointing to a sword on the wall. "This one is different then the others, why?"

Toshu looked at her in surprise before walking to her side. "Ah yes, this sword has no hand guards, it's more of a mix between a long sword and a rapier," he explained. Seeing the slight look of confusion in her eyes he continued, "That means that you can't slide your opponents blade down yours and catch it on the hand guard, it results in a more dangerous style of fighting where you have to deflect your enemies blows instead of catching them. Most people are unable to master it, and so use a shield to block their opponents blows."

"This will do nicely then," Midoriko said as she reached out and grasped the handle of the sword, liking the feel of it in her hand and how it seemed perfectly balanced for her.

Toshu sighed once more in defeat. "Come outside with me then, we might as well begin now unless you have any objections?"

"Now sounds wonderful," Midoriko said happily as she followed him outside.

Once they reached their destination at a spot in the field a few yards from the house, Toshu took the sword from her and set it on a stool before replacing it with a wooden stick of the same length and weight. "We train with these at first to prevent accidents," he explained.

Glancing at what she was wearing he continued, "The sleeves of your haori are too long and will get in the way, if you could shorten them to your wrist and fasten it there it would make things much easier."

Midoriko nodded in acknowledgement as she bunched her sleeves up around her wrist and tied them there with a piece of string.

_I'll have to ask mother to adjust the sleeves of my other haori's so I don't always have to do something like this._

Nodding in approval Toshu began her training. First he taught her how to stand, and then how to hold her sword. Once he felt she had those basics down well enough he moved on to simple forms. After a few hours of this had passed he gestured for a halt.

"I have to say Midoriko that you've surprised me with how fast you learn, you are one of my best pupils yet."

Midoriko blushed at the praise. "Thank you Toshu, I am trying my hardest."

"That will be enough for today," Toshu said smiling, "I have other things I need to tend to, but feel free to stay out here practicing as long as you would like."

"It's still rather early in the afternoon," replied Midoriko, "I think I'll stay out here a while longer and keep practicing these forms."

As Toshu walked back to his house Midoriko set down her wooden sword and picked up the real one, determined to practice with it now. It felt almost alive in her hands compared to the stick and she began to flow through her forms, feeling much more comfortable now then she had before. The afternoon sun's rays warmed her, causing her to lose track of the time as she continued to practice, marveling at the graceful feeling of what to her was a dance with sword.

"Priestess Midoriko, my pardon for intruding, but there's a man here determined to see you." Toshu's voice from behind her brought her out of the dance, and she stopped to catch her breath.

_A man?_

"Who is it?" she asked.

"That would be me, Priestess," a voice she didn't recognize replied. Something in that voice instantly set her on her guard as she turned to face the two men behind her.

The man standing next to Toshu looked slightly older then she, and was wearing the robes of a lesser lord. He had short black hair and bottomless black eyes that seemed to peer into the very depths of ones soul. She also noticed that Toshu had one hand on his sword as he glared at the stranger.

"And you would be…?"

"Ahh, you truly are as beautiful as the rumors say you are," the man replied instead, looking her up and down. "Your parents must both be truly proud of a daughter such as you."

"My father passed away several years ago," Midoriko stated calmly, struggling internally to control the rush of emotions that memory caused.

"I am sorry to hear that," the man said, not sounding sorry in the least.

"I asked your name," Midoriko responded coldly, unconsciously tightening her grip on the sword.

The man smirked before replying. "Ah yes, seeing as how I know yours it would only be fair to tell you mine, wouldn't it? You may call me Ukaran."

"What do you want with me Ukaran?" she asked.

"I see your training in the way of the sword," he said, once again ignoring her question.

The way he was dancing around her questions irritated her, but Midoriko decided to play along with his little game.

"Yes, I just started my training today."

"But why would a priestess ever need to learn how to attack with a sword?"

"You presume falsely, it is for defense, to protect myself from those who would wish me harm."

"Surely you cannot deny that a sword is also used to attack and kill though?"

Midoriko got the feeling that they were now verbally sparing and that this irritating man was testing her in some way. Toshu stood silently to the side, ready to intervene at a moments notice if he deemed it necessary, one hand still resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Your logic is twisted," retorted Midoriko. "The sword cannot decide what it is used for, only it's wielder determines that."

"Perhaps… perhaps," conceded Ukaran, looking pleased with the answer he had gotten from her. "Well I really should be going now, it was a please to meet you priestess."

"Is that all?" Midoriko asked, surprised.

"Should there be more? No. I simply wanted to meet you. Fear not, we _will_ meet again," he finished with a smile as he turned around and walked away. "Sweet dreams," he called back over his shoulder as he left.

His parting comment shocked her to her core and sent a shiver down her spine.

_How could he possibly know?! No, he couldn't, it was merely a parting statement I'm reading too much in to._

"Priestess are you alright?" Toshu asked in concern, noticing the look on her face.

"Yes Toshu, I'm fine," she replied, composing herself. "I think I'm done for the day, here's your sword back."

"No priestess, keep it as my present to you. After seeing you with it today I am sure that it was meant to be used by your hands. If you wish to continue your training I have time in the afternoons, I imagine your mornings are filled with training at the temple regardless."

Toshu also handed her a sheathe for the blade and showed her how to wear it so the sword was easy to draw. She thanked him once more for everything before leaving, the slight weight on her left hip felt completely natural as she slowly walked home.

Against her will her thoughts turned to her conversation with the strange man Ukaran and the remark he had made about her parents.

_Father…_

Her father had been a samurai and was considered the best fighter in the village. When the call for warriors arrived from the lord of the lands, her father and all the other men of the village able to fight were forced to answer it.

Not all the men returned, her father was one of those.

She still remembered that day as if had been only yesterday.

* * *

Midoriko had just turned ten. She and her mother were standing at the gates of the village, watching as the battle weary men slowly trickled in, eagerly looking for one in particular. After a while, however, the amount of men slowed and then stopped and the one they had been looking for still hadn't appeared.

Worried, Midoriko's mother had pulled her along to a group of men standing in a daze looking around at the village wondering what they should do or where they should go.

"Where is my husband?" her mother had demanded of them. "Is he hanging back with the wounded? When can we expect them to arrive?"

"There are no wounded," one of the men wearily replied. "Only those alive, and those dead."

"Your husband was a hero," another went on. "He held off the main wave of the demons single-handedly long enough for us to escape with the rest of the people in the castle. Without him we all would have died."

"You should have stayed and fought by his side you bastards!" her mother screamed at the men, reaching out and slapping the one who had explained. "You left him for dead and fled like the cowards you are!"

Her mother fell to the ground and began sobbing. "You have our sympathy for you loss," one of the men murmured, as the group left the mourning woman and the daughter trying to console her.

Midoriko and her mother had returned home in shock. The tale of how he had died meant nothing to them. He may have died a hero, but regardless, he was dead. All that mattered was that the most important person in both of their lives had suddenly been ripped away and would never return.

* * *

_Would you be proud if you saw me now Father?_

"I'm home!" she called out when she reached her house. She could hear her mother talking to someone in the dining room so that's where she headed. Once she got there she found that her mother had been talking to Enju, but that Sayo seemed to have left.

"Welcome back Midoriko," her mother said warmly as she saw her daughter enter the room. "What is that?!" she exclaimed suddenly, her eyes widening, as she noticed the sword at Midoriko's waist.

"It's a sword," Midoriko said teasingly, "Haven't you seen one before mother?"

"I know what it is," her mother let out sigh, "What are you doing with it though?"

"I asked Toshu to teach me to use it and he agreed, I thought it would be a good idea."

"You never cease to surprise me Midoriko," her mother chuckled, shaking her head ruefully as she gestured for her to come sit next to her. "I wondered what you had been doing all day."

"Sayo decided not to join us for dinner?" Midoriko asked, slightly sad at the news.

"Yes," replied Enju, "She seemed somewhat sad that you didn't react as she had hoped over her present and left shortly after you did."

"Oh…" Midoriko whispered sadly, looking down at the table. "I tried to be as happy as I could, I was just so surprised."

"It's not your fault," her mother comforted, wrapping one arm around her daughter and squeezing reassuringly. "Sayo was probably just confused why you always wore the same thing and wanted to get you something new to wear, she didn't understand what her present really meant."

"Still, it's a beautiful kimono. Mother, would you wear it in my place?" she asked.

"Of course dear," her mother said warmly.

"Thank you…"

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, everyone's been introduced now and from this point on things are going to start getting darker, mainly beginning at Chapter 4. As I'm writing I keep getting distracted by lines and ideas of future chapters, but I think I'm making good progress. Currently I'm aiming at around 10 chapters including an epilogue. Anyways I hope your enjoying the story, please leave a review to let me know what you think, and I hope to have the next chapter out soon although not as soon as this one was.**


	3. Journey to the Mountain

**Author's Note: Based on the non-existent hit count I'm starting to get the impression that no one really cares about Midoriko. Nevertheless I shall press on! I've also had a complete change of heart on the genre of this fic, it's been changed to Angst/Tragedy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko, the rest are mine however.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Journey to the Mountain**

Three weeks had passed since Midoriko had begun training with her sword and during those weeks her life had returned to the regular routine mostly. As her mother had implied, Master Seikai had indeed started to take her on trips with him to visit other villages to lend what aid they could.

Midoriko had never left the village before these trips, and thus they were always of great excitement to her. The suffering and sorrow they encountered in other villages, however, always served to remind her of the true purpose of these trips. Midoriko had always thought, somewhat naively she supposed, that other villages would be exactly like her own. Their first journey had quickly crushed that notion.

As the village had come into sight the first thing they noticed was the smoke. Picking up their pace they arrived to find the village halfway burned down with bodies littering the streets. The few survivors stared at the strangers through dead, empty eyes as they walked by. Midoriko struggled to maintain her composure and not collapse to the ground vomiting, she knew this had to be the work of demons but this was the first time she had actually seen what it was like.

They had stayed in the village for four days, longer then they had originally planned as they helped bury the dead and console the living. When they had welcomed the survivors to come back with them to live in their village, the people had refused, not willing to abandon the only home they had known their entire lives.

As they traveled back home Midoriko had asked Seikai why something like this had never happened to them, in all her life she could never remember a time when demons had attacked.

"Not all villages are as fortunate as ours," he had replied. "We have both my spiritual powers as well as Toshu's fighting skills protecting the village. Demons are by nature cowardly and prefer to prey on the weak and helpless, thus they have always left us alone. They also have a very long memory and have not forgotten the name of your father…"

_Father!?_

"I am somewhat confused by this occurrence, however" Seikai went on. "There had been no rumors of demon attacks within miles of this village… If I didn't know better…"

"If you didn't know better… what?" prompted Midoriko, curious as to what her master was thinking.

"Just the foolish thoughts of an old man," Seikai replied, smiling over at her. "If I didn't know better I'd think that the demons had attacked this village knowing that we were on the way."

They traveled the rest of the way back in silence, Midoriko thinking over what Seikai had said and what it could possibly mean if it were true.

* * *

'_Today is important_' Midoriko thought as she got dressed. Her mother had been quite happy to modify her haori's when Midoriko had asked and now her sleeves ended at her wrists with a small string to tighten them there.

Yesterday, at the end of training, Seikai had told her that the next day she was going on a journey by herself. "This is an important part of your training, your first time of actually traveling alone. I want you to go to the top of the mountain to the east and bring back the sacred bowl you will find on an altar."

Midoriko ate a quick breakfast with her mother before leaving, grabbing her sword from where she always left it next to the door. It was still quite early in the morning, the sun was nothing more then a faint glow behind the mountain. Her goal.

Midoriko set out at a quick pace, the mountain was not very far from the village and not very tall, she hoped to be back home in time for dinner. As she made her way across the fields surrounding the village to the base of the mountain, she thought back to two nights ago when she'd had the dream yet again.

* * *

This time her clothing had changed, she was now wearing one of her modified haori's and her sword was also at her waist. Unsure exactly what this meant, she drew her blade and waited for the demons. She also noticed that the pink glow was present once again, and while it was stronger, it was still difficult to make out.

This time when they drew near the demons halted and a black, shapeless form appeared in front of her. A gap where it's mouth would have been moved, but no sound came out. After a few moments of this it made a gesture with something resembling an arm and the demons surged forward to attack.

Midoriko managed to slay a few of the demons, but in the end she was overrun and torn to pieces once more.

* * *

_What does it all mean? Why does strengthening myself in life strengthen myself in the dream? And who or what was that new demon that tried to talk to me?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she finally reached the base of the mountain. After looking through the undergrowth for a few minutes she found the faint trail her master had mentioned and began to climb the mountain.

Thankfully it was starting to get lighter out as the sun neared the peak of the mountain, allowing Midoriko to better make out the roots and vines along the path that might have otherwise tripped her. The mountain was heavily forested, but light was still able to fight its way through the branches above. The sound of birdcalls slowly filled the air as they woke up and flew from tree to tree, searching for a morning meal.

Midoriko smiled happily at how beautiful and calm it was around her, this trip was proving to be quite enjoyable already. As if her cheerful thoughts had cursed the atmosphere, all the birds stopped making noise at once as a black cloud filled the sky overhead.

Suddenly alert and on edge Midoriko drew her sword from its sheath as she continued to walk up the path, looking wearily around her. She was unsure if continuing on was the wisest decision given the new foreboding circumstances, but she had promised her master that she would retrieve the bowl.

Noticing movement to her left out of the corner of her eye Midoriko whirled around and reflexively cut with her sword, behead a small snake demon as it leapt for her out of the grass.

_Demons? Here? This close to the village?_

Now very worried, Midoriko pressed on quickly, keeping an eye out for more demons that might try to attack her. As she continued upwards the number of attacks slowly grew, but to her confusion all the demons were easily killed by a single stroke of her blade.

_Something has caused all of these lesser demons to suddenly come out of hiding. I have a bad feeling that the dark cloud is somehow behind all of this. _Midoriko thought as she looked upwards at the ominous black cloud that was blocking the sun and now slowly spreading outwards.

As she neared the top Midoriko noticed something off to the right of the path and made a slight detour, entering a small clearing ringed by bushes except for where she had come in. Deciding that taking a small break would be a good idea to prepare for whatever awaited her at the top, Midoriko erected a small barrier around the clearing at sat down to rest.

Seikai had just recently taught her how to create a barrier and hers was still very weak. She was confidant, however, that it would be strong enough to ward off these small demons for a while.

Glancing more closely at the bushes Midoriko noticed that various types of berries were growing on them. Realizing that her battle up the mountain had made her slightly hungry, she walked over to one and picked a handful of the fruits, purifying them just in case.

As she sat in the middle of the clearing, facing the way she had entered from, Midoriko watched the natural wildlife slowly but quickly making it's way down the mountain away from the summit.

_Definitely not a good sign…_

To her horror she watched as a bear demon charged out from the trees and took down a fleeing deer with one blow. It was still a rather small demon, but it was the largest she had ever encountered in her life and she had no desire to fight it. She also knew that it could easily crush her barrier.

Deciding that it would be a good idea to move on now while it was distracted by its meal, Midoriko took down her barrier and quietly moved on up the mountain. Thankfully she encountered no more demons over the short distance remaining to the mountain's peak.

The mountain's summit was in a state of disarray. In the middle of a clearing surrounded by blackened trees she saw the shrine she had come for. Its doors had been forcefully blown off and were now lying on the ground several feet away. The shrine itself looked as if it had caught fire, tendrils of smoke still floated upwards in the air above it.

Filled with a feeling of dread Midoriko slowly approached the ruined shrine, her sword held out in front steadily. As she stepped over the remains of the blasted doors something moved inside the shrine and she readied herself for whatever was emerging.

To her surprise not a demon, but a man dressed in the robes of a monk appeared. Hesitantly Midoriko lowered her sword, uncomfortable with pointing it at another human.

"My pardon monk, are you the guardian of this shrine?" she called out in question. Her master had made no mention of a shrine-keeper, but she supposed it might have just slipped his mind, Seikai was getting rather old.

"Yes, that's right," the monk replied, not providing any further information.

"What happened here?" Midoriko asked, drawing closer as she tried to look at the inside of the shrine.

"A great demon appeared all of a sudden and blasted the shrine with his terrible power, causing the damage you see now," the monk explained. "I was helpless to stop him as he entered the shrine and took the sacred bowl housed within."

"The bowl was taken!?" Midoriko exclaimed in shock.

_Odd, however, that a demon so strong would leave this monk alive…_

As if reading her thoughts the monk continued to explain what had happened. "I am ashamed to admit that when this happened I was relieving myself in the woods. When I rushed back at the sound of the commotion I hid in the trees, too terrified to confront the demon. If only I was stronger I might have been able to save the bowl."

"I see…" Midoriko responded thoughtfully. "What of this black cloud that still looms overhead? I sense a strong demonic aura radiating outward from it."

"What is your name, priestess, that you have the power to sense this… aura?"

"My name is Midoriko," she answered hesitantly.

It was only there for a second, but Midoriko was positive that when she had said her name out loud she had seen something in the monk's eyes. A flash of hatred. Suddenly on her guard, Midoriko took a step back and raised her sword at the monk.

"Is something wrong, Priestess?" the monk asked, a smirk spreading across his face as he took a step down the stairs that lead up to the shrine.

Now that she thought about it there was something about that felt… odd about this man. Looking closely she realized she could faintly see ripples in the air surrounding him. An image suddenly flashed in her mind.

"Demon!" she hissed, tightening the grip on her sword as she prepared to fight.

The 'monk' laughed as he finished his decent down the stairs. "He truly is right about you, you are _remarkable_ Priestess. I am impressed that you were able to figure it out as far away from me as you are. In the end it means little though."

"Who are you talking about?" Midoriko demanded angrily.

"My master of course, he has taken _quite_ a liking to you I must say. Who he is should be the _least_ of your worries, however," the monk said, his voice deepening as his body expanded. "I will devour you alive and be rewarded by him!"

Midoriko watched transfixed as the man standing in front of her transformed into a massive spider. She narrowly managed to dodge to the side as he lunged at her, moving far faster then she had expected.

"You cannot escape me!" the spider yelled before spitting a mass of webs out at her.

Midoriko managed to avoid the webs and ran behind a tree to catch her breath, desperately trying to come up with a plan. She felt the tree shudder as something hit it and she darted out to attack, knowing she needed to kill this demon before it tired her out too much.

Without realizing it, however, she had fallen right into its trap as she charged into a barely noticeable web between the trees. As she struggled to free herself from the sticky prison the spider laughed at her as he slowly walked over.

"You cannot free yourself from my web."

Ignoring him Midoriko tried to cut herself free. Her arm was firmly trapped, but she was still able to move her wrist. Whenever the sword hit the web though it simply bounced off.

"I told you, your pathetic sword cannot slice through my web. Now stop struggling while I devour you!"

The demon was drawing closer and Midoriko was out of ideas. Desperately she tried to purify the webs around her, but realized she wasn't strong enough. Suddenly coming up with an idea, Midoriko tried focusing her purifying abilities into the blade of her sword. The spider was no longer paying attention to her sword so she experimentally tried cutting a bit of the web.

_It worked!_

Midoriko quickly freed her sword arm as best she could without drawing attention to the fact she was doing so before she slumped and hung loosely, feigning defeat. She knew that her plan was dangerous, but she was sure it was her only chance at this point.

The spider laughed again as it drew even closer, seeing exactly what she wanted it to see. The demon came to a stop in front of her and she could smell its disgusting breath on her face. It opened its mouth to eat her and she lunged forward as best she could, making her move. Before the demon could realize that something was wrong she thrust her sword inside of its mouth and jammed it upwards, hoping that she would be able to reach its brain.

The point of her sword, empowered by her purifying powers, easily pierced through the roof of the spider's mouth. The demon let out a terrifying scream of pain and spasmed, one of it's fangs digging deeply into Midoriko's shoulder before it jerked away from her, ripping the sword from her hands.

Midoriko let out a scream of agony of her own as she felt the spider's venom flow into her. Barely conscious she struggled to use the last of her power to neutralize the poison as blackness set in.

* * *

Midoriko awoke facedown in the grass, every inch of her body aching.

_I'm… alive…_

She struggled to push herself up and looked around. The sun was now much lower in the sky, indicating that it was now sometime in the late afternoon. The webs that had been holding her had dissolved, explaining why she was now on the ground. The dark cloud that had been looming overhead before was now also gone. On the other side of the clearing lay the demon spider's body. It was dead. Midoriko let out a sigh of relief.

_Training and actual battle are so different, I've got to talk with Toshu about finding a better way to prepare for stuff like this._

Midoriko lay in the grass for a while before she found the strength to stand up and stagger over to the demon's body where she retrieved her sword. She cleaned it as best she could on the grass before returning it to its sheath. Unsure if the demon had been lying to her, Midoriko entered the small shrine to see if the bowl was actually there. To her dismay all that remained inside was a small stand, which the bowl had most likely rested on.

_I suppose there's nothing left to do besides returning to Master Seikai and explaining that the bowl has been stolen._

Exhausted, Midoriko slowly began to make her way back down the mountain, praying she didn't run into any more demons. After a while she realized she had lost the path and was simply wandering aimlessly downhill. Panicked she looked around for the path but quickly realized that she had no idea where it was.

"Calm down," she instructed herself, talking out loud. "The village is to the west of the mountain, you can even see it from here. Just get the bottom without the path and you'll be fine."

After a while of heading down through the trees Midoriko heard some strange noises to her left, and against her better judgment went to investigate. The noises were coming from a clearing, and when she peaked around a tree she was startled to see the back of a large demon snake right in front of her. On the other side of it was…

_Kirere?!_

There was no doubt about it. On the other side of the snake, a demon cat that looked identical to the statue in her bedroom was standing. The only difference between the two was that this one was a _lot_ bigger.

_It even has that odd mark on its head…_

The snake made another lunge for the cat, and by the way the cat sluggishly dodged Midoriko realized that it was losing the battle. Ignoring how weak she felt Midoriko drew her sword once more and charged into the clearing, determined to save the cat that so closely resembled her Kirere.

Her sword clashed against the demon's scales and didn't even leave a scratch, all she managed to accomplish was to get its attention on her instead of the wounded cat.

_Not good…_

Realizing that she was likely going to die Midoriko reached deep down inside herself and used the last of her power to form a barrier. To her surprise she realized the cat had gotten close enough to her to be included inside as well. "I'm… glad…" she murmured before falling unconscious from the drain on her body.

* * *

The cat had watched as the injured human had tried to save it from the snake. The human was clearly quite weak and in bad shape, yet it was throwing its life into harms way in an attempt to save a stranger.

Quickly making up its mind, the cat bounded over to the human's side, they would fight this battle together. To its surprise, however, the human erected a barrier around the two of them before slumping to the ground. Realizing that the barrier was too weak to keep out the snake, the cat lay down next to the fallen woman and closed its eyes, the strange mark on its forehead starting to glow. It was unable to make a barrier of its own, but it could enhance one that was already present.

After several failed attempts to break down the barrier, the snake hissed in frustration before slithering away to find easier prey. The cat curled up around the woman and waited.

* * *

It was warm. Very warm. "Ki…rere?" Midoriko suddenly remembered what had happened and sat bolt upright, looking around her. To her surprise the barrier was still up and the snake was gone.

_The snake should have been able to break though… What happened?_

Just then she noticed that the mark on Kirere's forehead was glowing faintly. "Did you do this Kirere?" she asked, gently petting the cat's head.

Kirere's only response was to purr happily as the mark slowly stopped glowing and the barrier came down. Midoriko slowly got to her feet but when Kirere tried to follow her lead one of her legs crumpled and she fell back down.

"Kirere!" Midoriko exclaimed in worry as she leaned down to look at the leg. "There's nothing I can do about this here," she continued regretfully after seeing the wound. "If only you were smaller so that I could carry you back to the village."

To her horror Kirere was suddenly engulfed in flames and when they died out a much smaller, cuter, version of Kirere lay on the ground. It looked up at her and mewed happily. Smiling in joy Midoriko reached down and picked up the small cat, cradling it against her chest as she walked down the rest of the mountain and back to the village.

* * *

**Author's Note: Whew. I've kinda burnt myself out writing so much over the last three days which I'm starting to regret because from here on out the story starts to get -really- interesting. As a sort of sneak peak of the next chapter I'll let you know that _someone_ is going to die but I'm not saying who. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as always please leave a review letting me know what you thought about it, and I'll try and get the next chapter out within a week.**


	4. Recovering the Relic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko or Enju, the rest are mine however.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Recovering the Relic**

By the time Midoriko and Kirere made it back to the village the sun had already set. Knowing that Seikai would want to know what had happened on the mountain, Midoriko went to the temple first. When she entered the doors Seikai rushed over, clearly worried.

"Midoriko, what happened to you!?" Seikai exclaimed in horrified shock.

It was then that Midoriko realized exactly what shape she was in. Her left shoulder was deeply cut by the spider's fang and blood from the wound had soaked through her haori, staining it the same color as her hakama. She also had bits and pieces of spider web still loosely stuck to her clothes and hair, as well as twigs and brambles from her trek off the path. And of course, Kirere was still in her arms.

"I uh, ran into a little bit of trouble," Midoriko explained.

"Looks to me more like a lot of trouble. Come, sit down and tell me everything that happened," Seikai said, gesturing to the cushions on the floor.

"Of course Master, I'll need to make it short though as I'm sure my mother is worried about me as well. Would it also be alright to grab some medicine for Kirere quickly?"

"Of course," Seikai replied warmly, only glancing at the cat in question curiously once.

Once she had the medicine she requested, Midoriko sat opposite Seikai and explained what had happened that morning, treating Kirere's injured leg at the same time. Seikai remained silent throughout the entire tale and only spoke up once she had finished.

"This demon disguised as a monk has me most worried. The fact that he was not the one responsible for stealing the bowl, and yet was still there can only mean that they knew you would be going there. But how is that possible if only the two of us even knew where you were going?"

"I also don't like the mention of this 'master' you say he told you of," Seikai continued. He stole the bowl and then left a minion behind to slay you. Who is this demon who knows so much and seems to hate you so?"

"I wish I had answers Master Seikai, but I'm afraid I'm just as confused as you are. For now I plan to rest and recover, then, if you agree to it, I would like to try and recover the bowl that the demons stole. What exactly is it anyway?" she asked.

"I was going to wait to explain until you had returned it to me, but given the current circumstances I suppose I need to now. You remember back to our first trip together where I told you how I was one of the ones protecting the village?"

Midoriko nodded, quite clearly remembering that conversation.

"That bowl is part of the protection, a relic from ancient times. It is known as the Bowl of Barriers and with its power I was able to form a strong barrier over the entire village."

"If it was so important then why did you leave it in the shrine at the top of that mountain?" Midoriko asked, confused.

"The bowl has the unique, and rather annoying, property of being unable to function if it is inside the barrier it is enhancing, therefore I placed it in that shire you went to and sealed the doors against intrusion. The fact a demon was able to break that seal is alarming in and of itself."

"If the bowl looses its power inside the village then why did you ask me to go and get it?"

"A good question." Seikai smiled. "The bowl is also a powerful tool in learning how to strengthen your own barriers, I was planning on using it to teach you to strengthen yours. From your story, however, it seems that your new companion is able to do that."

"Yes," Midoriko responded happily, smiling at Kirere and laughing as she ran a circle around her. Clearly the medicine and bandage had made the cat's leg feel much better.

"As to recovering the bowl," Seikai went on, "I think it would be better for you to forget about it for now. I am more then impressed with how you handled yourself on the mountain, but I'm afraid this demon thief may be beyond your power. Regardless the bowl only works for one person at a time meaning that unless I am slain or it is somehow broken it is still performing its job. I can feel its power enhancing mine even as we speak meaning that this demon most likely doesn't know the means of breaking it."

"As you wish, Master," Midoriko replied reluctantly, not eager to just abandon what she had been tasked to bring back. "If that's all I should be heading home now."

"Of course, I'm sure your mother must be quite worried. Take your time recovering, I don't expect you for training tomorrow morning, but if you feel up to it we can continue."

Midoriko thanked Seikai for everything before picking Kirere up and leaving the temple. Deciding she wanted to pay a quick visit to Toshu she headed to the training grounds instead of her house.

"Priestess Midoriko, what happened to you? Are you alright?!" Toshu yelled in horror when she walked into his house.

After reassuring him that she was fine and telling him what had happened Midoriko got to why she was there. "My training saved my life Toshu, without it I'm sure I would have died. However, nothing we had done prepared me for actual battle, is there anything we can do about that?"

"Of course," Toshu assured her. "I hadn't gotten to actual combat yet as I felt you were still a ways off from getting involved in it, but the sooner the better I suppose. When you feel well enough we can begin sparring, hopefully that should help prepare you adequately."

After thanking Toshu as well Midoriko hurried home, sure that her mother would be nearing a state of hysterics over where her daughter could possibly be. It had gotten quite dark by this point, but Midoriko was able to make her way through the streets by the light of the full moon.

She reached the door of her house and was about to call out to her mother when something moved in the shadows directly to her left.

"Priestess Midoriko…" a voice she faintly recognized spoke.

"Who's there?" she asked, startled. She hadn't even seen a person standing there when she had approached.

"I'm hurt, don't you remember me?" the man asked as he stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

"Ukaran!" she exclaimed, anger slightly tingeing her voice. Kirere hissed at the man and Midoriko absently petted her trying to soothe her.

"What, not pleased to see me?" he taunted. "I am always honored to be in your beautiful presence Midoriko, it pains me to see the feeling isn't mutual."

"What do you want?" Midoriko asked angrily, resting her hand on her sword.

"Want? Why nothing besides seeing your beautiful face. Oh," he added as an afterthought, "I also thought you might like some information on the Bowl of Barriers, I heard you were looking for it."

"The bowl!?"

"Yes… I heard some minor demon stole it and fled to its castle, a ways north of this village hidden in a valley," Ukaran explained, sounding bored. "Anyways, I really must be going now, I'll leave you a small present before I go though."

Suddenly Midoriko felt lips brush against her forehead followed by a searing pain that caused her to cry out. She thrust her hands out to push him away, but realized he was still standing a few feet away from her.

"Farewell Midoriko, until we meet again…" Ukaran whispered as he vanished back into the shadows.

"Midoriko?!" she heard her mother call out before she appeared in the door with Enju behind her. "Midoriko!" her mother exclaimed as she rushed forward and gave her a tight hug before kissing her on the forehead. Exactly where Ukaran's lips had just touched her. A shiver ran down Midoriko's spine.

"Are you alright Midoriko? I've been so worried about you…"

"I'm fine Mother, I just need some rest."

Her mother stepped back and moved out of the door, "come inside and tell us everything that happened, I have a nice warm meal waiting for you." Midoriko smiled and took a step forwards before feeling suddenly lightheaded. "Midoriko!!" she heard both her mother and Enju call out as she collapsed to the ground unconscious.

* * *

When Midoriko finally woke up she realized she was in her bed. Opening her eyes she saw that the weight she had felt on her chest was a curled up, sleeping, Kirere. Midoriko smiled and gently petted Kirere as she thought back to what had happened.

_How did Ukaran know about the bowl? I'm sure Master Seikai hasn't told anyone other then me about it. Furthermore how did Ukaran know where this demon had taken it?_

Unsure of what to do Midoriko got out of bed and began to get dressed, noticing that her injured shoulder had been bandaged. Her mother and Enju were waiting for her in the dining room when she entered. Midoriko sat down next to them and began to eat while explaining what had happened.

"Who's your new companion over there? Enju asked when she had finished talking, gesturing over at Kirere as the cat poked its head around the corner.

"Doesn't she look familiar Enju? It's Kirere!"

Hearing her name Kirere bounded across the floor and jumped into Midoriko's lap, purring happily. Enju's eyes widening in shock as she saw the twin tails as well as the mark on its forehead.

"But… how?"

"I don't know," admitted Midoriko. "I'm just glad I found her."

"Midoriko, I don't know if you have any plans for the day, but please stay home and recover," her mother begged.

"I can't Mother," Midoriko replied guiltily, unable to look at her. "I think I know where the bowl was taken, I have to try and get it back. I promise to be careful, besides, Kirere will be with me."

Her mother let out a sigh before smiling at her daughter. "Please take care and come back as soon as you can."

"I will," Midoriko promised, hugging her mother tightly as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"Take care of her Kirere!" Enju called out as they left.

Midoriko wasn't sure if it was wise to trust what Ukaran had told her, but she figured she might as well check it out. Once they had left the village through the north gate and had walked a ways, Kirere jumped out of her arms.

"Kirere?" Midoriko asked, confused as the cat was once more engulfed in flames as it transformed to its larger form.

Kirere gestured with her head, indicating that she wanted Midoriko to climb up on her back. Unsure Midoriko hesitantly climbed on and let out a cry of surprise when Kirere jumped up into the sky.

"You can fly?!" she exclaimed in shock as she watched the ground below rush by.

After recovering from her surprise Midoriko laughed happily, enjoying the feeling of flying immensely. Sooner then she had expected they saw the valley Ukaran had mentioned and flew into it, looking for the castle hidden within. As they rounded a corner the castle loomed in front of them, not hidden at all.

Over the castle an ominous black cloud hung, identical to the one she had seen yesterday. Midoriko even felt the same demonic aura being radiated by this cloud.

_Could it be the same one?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as a horde of flying demons burst out from behind the castle's walls and flew directly at them. Midoriko drew her sword as Kirere let out a roar of hatred and flew right through the demons, the two of them slicing apart any that got too close.

"Good Kirere, we need to find the demon who stole the bowl before he has a chance to escape, let's ignore what we can and hurry."

They flew over the walls and landed in the courtyard, shocked to find a horde of angry demons surrounding them.

_There's so many…_

Not hesitating, Midoriko jumped off Kirere's back as the two of them began fighting their way forward, clearing a path to the throne room ahead of them. After what seemed like hours, but could only have been a few minutes they finally reached their destination, panting and covered in demon blood.

Glancing behind her Midoriko was surprised to notice that the remaining demons had stopped and were simply glaring at the two of them in hatred.

_They're afraid… Of us or what lies through these doors though?_

Midoriko couldn't shake the ominous feeling that surrounded her as she pushed open the doors in front of her. The room on the other side was engulfed in darkness, even as her eyes slowly adjusted Midoriko wasn't able to make anything out. Next to her Kirere let out a low growl, clearly able to see something Midoriko couldn't.

"What is it Kirere?" she asked.

There was a sudden flare of light as several torches in the room suddenly ignited causing Midoriko to let out a cry of surprise as she shielded her eyes, the sudden light blinding her.

"My apologies, I forgot you cannot see without light," a faintly familiar voice called out.

Recognizing it Midoriko removed her hand and squinted at the figure sitting on the throne to confirm her suspicions.

"Ukaran," she hissed.

"Surprised?" Ukaran asked, clearly amused.

"So it was all a lie, simply a trap to bring me to your castle?"

"A lie? Oh no, I have the bowl right here," Ukaran replied, smirking as he reached down next to him and lifted up a small bowl with one hand.

"You?! You're the one who stole the bowl?"

"Of course. It did, after all, bring you right to me did it not? I'm afraid, however, that it has outlived its usefulness," he continued with a note of fake regret before clenching his fist, easily crushing the bowl.

"What do you want with me?" Midoriko demanded, tightening the grip on her sword as she took a step closer to the throne.

"Sheath your sword," Ukaran demanded.

Midoriko ignored him and took another step towards the throne. Suddenly her forehead seared with blinding pain causing her to cry out and clutch her head with both hands, dropping the sword in the process.

"Much better, is something troubling you though my dear?" he asked with a smirk.

"Bastard…" she muttered.

"As to my reasons for bringing you here I have already told you many times that I greatly enjoy being in your beautiful presence," he explained, leering at her.

"So that's it then? You got tired of coming to see me so you made me come to visit you? Is this your sick idea of a joke Ukaran? I'm not some little plaything of yours!"

"Well… I lied, that was only part of the reason I brought you here. The other part was to ask you to become my wife."

Midoriko stood staring at him in shock before she replied. "Your joking right? You're a demon, I can tell that now if your actions weren't already enough to prove that. Why would I marry you, surely you must know I despise you." And she laughed.

Ukaran's face didn't change at all, but she could suddenly feel waves of hatred and anger flowing off of his body towards her. "So that's your answer is it?" he asked in a voice completely devoid of all emotion.

Suddenly wary Midoriko prepared to make a lunge for her sword as she nodded in response to his question.

"You disappoint me Priestess. Regretfully I'm afraid I'll have to move on to the more… unfavorable means of persuasion."

"Persuasion? I don't think you understand Ukaran, no matter what you do I will always refuse to marry you."

"I will leave you now so that you can think over what I've said and hopefully change your mind, for your own sake," he continued, ignoring what she had said.

With that two large, black, wings ripped through the back of his robes and he flew upwards, breaking through the roof and vanishing from sight.

Startled Midoriko bent down and retrieved her sword before returning it to its sheath. "Common Kirere, lets go home."

The two of them stepped back into the courtyard prepared to battle their way through more demons, but were surprised to see that it was completely empty. Not wanting to push their luck Midoriko jumped on Kirere's back and the two of them flew back to the village.

_Ukaran has made it clear that he wants me, it seems that he's going to start becoming a little more forceful as well… And the bowl was destroyed as well…_

Once they were in sight of the village Kirere landed and transformed back before jumping into Midoriko's arms and licking her face, trying to comfort her. Midoriko smiled and started walking back home, deciding that she'd take the rest of the day off to think over what had happened. As she neared her house she was startled to see Seikai running toward her.

"Master Seikai, what is it?" she asked in concern.

"The bowl! The bowl has been broken!" Seikai exclaimed.

"Oh that, yes I know already," Midoriko wearily replied.

"You know? Then you were able to feel it too?" he asked in surprise.

Midoriko explained what had happened in the castle, leaving out what Ukaran had said after destroying the bowl and replacing it with him simply leaving.

"So the demon told you where to find him and then mocked you by destroying it right in front of you? I don't like this Ukaran one bit!"

"Is the village still safe?"

"For now yes, the barrier still holds but it is much weaker. A strong demon would be able to break through, but it will still ward off most."

"That's good to know," Midoriko sighed. "If you wouldn't mind, however, I'd like to go home and just sleep, today has been exhausting."

"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow morning then and we can begin discussing plans of restoring the barrier to how it used to be."

Midoriko nodded in agreement and waved farewell to Seikai as she entered her house. She called out to let her mother know that she was back, but discovered her mother wasn't home yet. Realizing just how tired she was Midoriko went to her room and stripped down to her shift before crawling into bed and falling asleep.

* * *

When she woke up it was dark outside, the moon providing the only light. For some reason she felt incredibly dirty and thought back to her encounter with Ukaran. Deciding that she desperately needed a bath Midoriko quickly got dressed before grabbing a towel and heading to the hot springs.

Once she got there she stripped and quickly hopped into the water, the cold air of the night sending shivers across her bare flesh. As she enjoyed the warmth of the water she tried to rub the feeling from her skin, but no matter how she tried she felt as though his eyes were still violating her body.

"You look truly divine by moonlight Midoriko, did you know that?" she heard him say behind her.

Letting out a cry of surprise Midoriko covered her chest with one arm and submerged herself in the water up to her neck before turning around to see Ukaran standing at the edge of the springs.

"What… what are you doing here?" she asked, a slight note of fear in her voice.

"Afraid? Good, that means your beginning to understand."

"What are you going to do to me?" Without her clothes or sword Midoriko felt helplessly weak.

"Do to you? Nothing, for now. I simply came to ask you to change your mind. I love you Midoriko, I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Love me?! You think you understand love?" she questioned doubtfully. "If you claim to love me so much then why did you leave behind your spider minion to kill me on the mountain?"

At her words Ukaran's face darkened slightly. "Kill you? No, he was only supposed to capture you. If he harmed you in any way you have my deepest apologies, if you had not already slain him I would do so myself."

Surprised Midoriko found herself actually believing what Ukaran told her, the tone of his voice was too convincing for her to think otherwise.

"It doesn't matter!" she exclaimed, shaking her head to clear it of the confusing thoughts that had begun to form. "You are evil, I can feel it seeping out of you from your very soul. You destroyed the bowl protecting my village and have filled your castle with the vilest of demons. I want nothing to do with a petty demon like you."

By the way his face ignited with rage she suddenly regretted what she had said. This was the only time she could ever remember Ukaran losing his composure.

"Petty demon am I?" he snarled, venom dripping from his voice. "You should learn to be wary of whom you mock Priestess. Those you hold most dear might suffer the consequences," he hissed as his wings grew from his back and he flew away.

Filled with a feeling of inescapable dread Midoriko leapt out of the water and threw on her clothes, not even hesitating to dry herself off. Once she was dressed she rushed back to the village as fast as she could. Not paying close enough attention to the roots along the path her foot suddenly caught on one, causing her to crash violently into the ground. She felt a sickening pain in the arm she had landed on but ignored it as she jumped back to her feet and rushed on.

When her house finally came into sight she was glad to see that nothing seemed to be wrong, everything was as she had left it. Until Enju staggered into the doorway, blood running down the side of her face.

Midoriko rushed to her side and helped support her, she was glad to see that Enju was alright, the cut on her head had just bleed a lot.

"Enju, what happened?" she asked, panicked.

"I heard a scream… I was worried so I came over to see what had happened… When I opened the door… A demon attacked me…"

"A demon!?"

_The barrier… Ukaran must have let it through!_

"I was sure I was going to die," Enju continued. "Suddenly Kirere appeared behind the demon and killed it… She saved my life."

_Of course, I left Kirere sleeping in my room when I went to take my bath._

"Enju," she said, grabbing both of the woman's shoulders and looking into her eyes. "My mother, is she alright?"

She saw a flicker of something in Enju's eyes. "Midoriko… I think… I think Kirere was still asleep and taken by surprise when the demon attacked…"

"NO!" screamed Midoriko refusing to believe what Enju was implying. She pushed her friend to the side and hurried into the house. Before she got through the door though Enju grabbed her wrist.

"No Midoriko, not like this. You shouldn't see her like this."

Ignoring what Enju said Midoriko angrily ripped her wrist away and ran to her mother's bedroom.

Enju closed her eyes to try and stop the tears when she heard Midoriko's agonizing scream pierce the still night air.

* * *

Midoriko collapsed to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably, her entire body shaking, Her mother was still lying in her bed, the sheets still drawn up to her head. Her face was frozen in a mask of both confusion and terror. The entire bed was soaked in her blood.

After what seemed like an hour when her tears had finally stopped coming Midoriko only felt one emotion. Hate. Extreme hatred towards the man, no demon, who had caused this. In a daze Midoriko stood and walked out of the room, almost tripping over Kirere, not realizing that the cat had joined her during her mourning.

Picking Kirere up Midoriko left the house and headed to the only place she knew to go. The temple. Seikai was at first confused and then extremely worried as Midoriko sunk to the floor of the temple.

"Midoriko, what happened you look terrible."

"Demons killed my mother," she stated bluntly, wincing at the pain the out loud confession caused, as if it hadn't been real before she spoke it.

"What?!" Seikai exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide. "That's impossible, the barrier is still up!"

"Ukaran has always been able to enter the village, even when the bowl was aiding your power, it would have been a joke for him to get another demon inside with it as weak as it is now."

"You say Ukaran did this? How do you know?"

"Because he came to see me at the hot springs and something I said upset him."

"Midoriko," Seikai began, sitting next to her on the floor and putting an arm around her. "You must not blame yourself, that's exactly what he wants. This is not your fault, the demon killed her, not you."

"Is it wrong to feel this hatred, to want revenge Master?"

She felt his arm tighten around her before he responded. "Hate is wrong only if you allow it to consume you. Instead use that hatred to forge your soul into something stronger."

"And revenge?"

"In your case revenge is just, bring retribution upon this demon and make him pay for what he has done to you."

"I shall do that. I swear that I will slay Ukaran if it's the last thing I do."

**Author's Note: Wow, that ended up being a little longer then I was planning on. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review letting me know what you thought about it. I hope to have the next chapter out in a week, but it may take longer as I'm still not sure what's going to be in it.**

**Update 03/08/07: College is proving to be beyond busy right now and I simply don't have any time to write. I have NOT abandoned this fic, I still plan on finishing it and I hope to do that over Spring Break. For those of you who do wish to read on and find out how the story ends please just put this fic on StoryAlert, I hope to have all the rest of the fic posted 2.5 weeks from now.**


	5. Naobi

**Author's Note: It's been ages since I last updated and I apologize for that, I was planning on having the fic finished by this point. College was pretty crazy this month though and I had absolutely no spare time to write at all. Anyway, here goes, hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko or Enju, the rest are all mine however.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Naobi**

It had been three years since that fateful night when Ukaran had slain her mother. Since that time there had been few large changes in the village. Sayo was now married to Kokichi and seemed happy, although Midoriko sensed something unusual when she saw them together at times. Toshu was still training the villagers how to use weapons to defend themselves from demons, despite the fact that no demons had been seen around the village since that night. And Midoriko no longer trained with Toshu as the older man had told her that he could teach her no more, although she still visited him often.

Master Seikai had passed away about a year ago, right before Midoriko obtained a strange, small, mark directly in the middle of her forehead. It was identical to the one on Kirere's head as well. Midoriko now lived with Enju, unable to remain in the house that held such terrible memories for her. She made sure to visit her mother's grave daily, however, and there were always fresh flowers placed on it. She still had the same dream as well, although since obtaining the mark she never died anymore, she simply battled until she awoke the next morning. The form that spoke with no sound had continued to clarify until she was able to make out who it was, Ukaran. Despite this, she had not seen the demon again in person since that one night.

Yesterday, Midoriko had received an urgent request from the local lord, desperately asking her to come to come to his castle at once to assist in its defense against a massive demon army. After saying farewell to her remaining friends and setting up a barrier around the entire village, Midoriko hopped on Kirere's back and set out for the castle as fast as possible.

Now, as she shielded her eyes from the blinding glare of the sun, she could see the castle resting at the base of the largest mountain. Spread out in front of it was the demonic horde. As she flew closer, a small detachment of flying demons rose to intercept her. To their regret. Hardly paying them any notice at all, Midoriko simply waved her hand in their direction, instantly purifying their souls causing them to let out shrieks of pain before they vanished.

As she landed in the main courtyard of the castle, she was greeted by several soldiers who quickly surrounded her before leveling their spears at her chest. Kirere let out a low growl, but Midoriko quickly calmed her by placing a hand on her head.

"State your business witch," snarled the man she guessed to be the captain.

"I was summoned here by your lord, is such an unfriendly greeting common for allies?" Midoriko asked calmly, showing no signs of fear or anger.

"In case you haven't noticed this castle is under siege by demons. When we see someone fly over the walls riding a demon it's slightly suspicious. If you claim that our lord sent for you then show us proof." The captain smirked, positive she had no such thing.

Saying nothing in return Midoriko simply reached into her pack and withdrew the letter she had received before handing it to the surprised captain. After a few moments of him reading and then re-reading the paper he signaled his men to lower their weapons.

"It seems like she's telling the truth," the captain said reluctantly. "I want all of you to escort her to our lord, if she does anything suspicious at all, however, slay her on the spot."

Ignoring the threat, Midoriko signaled to Kirere for her to change and the men surrounding her let out cries of terror and retreated as the cat was engulfed in flames. Smiling slightly Midoriko bent down and picked up Kirere before heading towards the throne room. Hurriedly the men assigned to her caught up, clutching their weapons tightly, fear and anger both present in their eyes.

Once they reached the throne room all but two of her escort remained outside the doors, while her guards flanking her as they approached the lord. When they reached him, a woman who had been sitting on a cushion next to the throne suddenly jumped to her feet and started at Midoriko.

The woman was much older then herself, but was dressed in essentially the same clothes, marking her as another priestess. "Imposter!" she cried, a wrinkled finger pointing at Midoriko's forehead. "You… you bear the mark of naobi! That is impossible, no one has ever worn that mark!"

"And likely no one will ever again, you cannot even begin to comprehend what one must do to attain this mark," Midoriko quietly replied.

"You arrogant…"

"Arrogant? No, you simply have trouble seeing and understanding the truth of my statement."

"Enough," the lord said firmly, getting to his feet as well. "I invited the Priestess Midoriko here as I feel she is the only one now who can save us. You will treat her with respect."

"Priestess," he continued, "you must have seen the army, will you be able to aid us?"

"I believe I should be able to," Midoriko replied. "They seem very disorganized, have you been able to pick out their leader?"

"We're… unsure about that part. When the demons first arrived there was one that was clearly the most powerful, it was giving all the directions and the others were clearly afraid of it. Several days ago, however, it left and hasn't returned. Since then the demons have stopped attacking the castle, they seem content to let us starve as our supplies slowly run out."

Midoriko stood there silently, thinking about what the lord had told her. _This is clearly Ukaran's work; he must be one they were following until he left. I cannot believe that he would instruct them to simply starve the castle however. Does this mean that even though the demons are afraid of him they refuse to obey him if he's not around?_

"Very well then, if they have no leader at present then now is the best time to strike. Ready your own men and have them meet me outside the main gates. We shall end this siege with one mighty blow."

"Thank you Priestess," the lord responded, bowing slightly before gesturing the two soldiers to spread the word.

A few minutes later Midoriko was standing with her back to the castle gates looking out over the remaining defenders of the castle.

"I know that you have been fighting for a long time, that you have watched as your friends and loved ones were slain. I imagine that you're all tired of this siege. I ask you now to come with me through these gates one last time to put an end to the demons waiting on the other side. Ignore the fact that they outnumber us by so much for we have right on our side."

She saw several of the men smiling at her words, but she also heard mutters of discontent from others.

"She's a woman and we're supposed to follow her in battle? Does she think we're insane?"

"Why should it be any different with her then the dozens of other times we've tried to break this siege?"

"I heard that she's a friend of demons, we shouldn't trust her!"

Smiling sadly Midoriko turned to face the gate, signaling to the men above to open it. She glanced over her shoulder as the gates slowly swung open. "In the end it is your choice if you decide to fight with me, I hope that I'm not forced to do this alone."

This statement caused the muttering to die out as the men watched in surprise as the lone priestess steadily approached the demons waiting outside, only her cat accompanying her.

The demons let out a cry of joy as they saw a lone woman approaching their camp and jumped to their feet, each eager to be the first the first to devour her alive. Midoriko didn't slow her pace as she watched the demons approach, rather she sped up slightly as she drew her sword and continued on. At her side Kirere let out a challenging roar as she transformed into her adult form.

At the sight of this, some of the more intelligent demons hesitated and drew back slightly, alarmed at how sure this human seemed of herself. Right before the wave of demons reached her, Midoriko swung her sword and even though it touched none of the demons, all the ones in the front let out screams of pain before vanishing as their souls were purified.

Midoriko continued on, slicing through the demons she had reached as they stared in surprise and horror. Realizing that despite the fact she was alone she was still a great threat, the demons massed up trying to overcome her with sheer numbers. It made no difference, however, as Midoriko both purified and killed any that got too close with Kirere guarding her back. From behind her Midoriko heard a shout from the soldiers and smiled as she saw them joining the battle.

* * *

Several hours later the battle was over. The demons had refused to retreat, even when it became clear that they had lost. The number of injured and slain on the defenders side was far less then had been expected, which everyone attributed to Midoriko. As soon as the fighting had ended she had considered the battle only halfway done, now she needed to heal the wounded. As she went about this new task she heard the soldiers still whispering about her.

"Did you see the way she fought? Surely she must be a demon in disguise!"

"Don't be silly, she's a priestess and she saved us, we should be grateful!"

"I still think it must be part of some trap."

"Please ignore their unkind words, my lady," the old soldier she was treating murmured.

Surprised, Midoriko smiled down at the man. "Do not worry, their words trouble me not. It is human nature to be afraid of what you do not understand, I am simply happy we were able to end the battle."

"I am truly grateful to have gotten the chance to meet you Priestess, if there is anything you ever need please don't hesitate to call on Sano."

"Priestess, pardon the intrusion, but the lord has requested your presence as soon as you have finished tending to the injured," a solider called out from the entrance of the tent before ducking back out.

"Thank you Sano," she replied. "You should be fine now, luckily your wound wasn't very serious."

Midoriko continued around the tent, helping everyone she could and making sure they were all as comfortable as possible. Hours later when she finally finished she left the tent and headed for the lords chambers, exhausted.

When she got to the throne room she was surprised to find it packed with soldiers. Ignoring them she walked before the lord and bowed her head in respect. "You called for me?"

"Priestess, I am sure I speak for everyone in this castle when I say thank you for what you have done. I would like you to stay here in this castle and act as my advisor, I will make sure that you have every comfort possible."

Midoriko jerked her head up and looked at the lord in surprise. "I'm sorry but I have to politely decline your kind offer, I'm glad to have been able to help but now I simply wish to return to my home."

"Please, won't you reconsider?" the lord asked, a strange look entering his eye.

Suddenly alert Midoriko reached for her sword; only to have her arm grabbed by a soldier as another grabbed her left arm as well. "What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded, struggling in the grip of the soldiers.

"You have so much power," explained the lord, "and I want to control that power. If you are unwilling to stay then, to my deepest regret, I'm afraid that I will have to force you to until you change your mind. Take her to the dungeons."

Midoriko struggled against the men holding her, but was unable to break free. Realizing it was hopeless she silently walked with her guards to a cell where they tossed her in before leaving. She heard a sound behind her, and turned around to find that Kirere was already in here as well. Smiling as a plan came to her, she rushed over to make sure her friend was okay.

Once she was sure they hadn't injured Kirere, Midoriko had her shrink to her kitten form before sending her out through the bars to get paper and ink. When she returned a few minutes later Midoriko hastily wrote a letter.

Toshu-

I have to keep this short. Something is wrong with our lord, he has imprisoned me in the dungeons demanding that I stay here and work for him. I need your assistance in getting out of here as soon as possible. When you arrive find a soldier named Sano, he is a friend and will be able to help you.

Thank you,

Midoriko

Once she finished Midoriko ripped the string from her left sleeve and used it to tie the letter around Kirere's neck. "I need you to get this to Toshu back home quickly okay Kirere?"

The cat made a low rumble in its throat as it rubbed its head against her leg before jumping up to the small window and slipping through the bars into the night.

Midoriko watched from the window as Kirere transformed and then took off in the direction of the village. Once she was out of sight Midoriko slumped to the ground, hugged her legs to her chest, and waited.

* * *

She was woken from her light slumber by the sound of a faint cry down the hallway outside her cell. Quickly she got to her feet and went to the bars, trying to look down the hallway. After a few moments a torch appeared from around a corner and started moving towards her. Unsure who it was Midoriko took a step away from the door and quietly drew her sword.

When the torch stopped outside her cell she saw both Toshu and Sano and let out a sigh of relief as Sano grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Midoriko hurried out and quickly hugged Toshu. "Thank you both so much."

"No time for idle chat," Toshu reminded them, "let's get out of here right away."

"No," replied Midoriko to both the men's surprise. "Something is wrong with the lord, I'm afraid that my worst suspicions are true and I need to confirm if they are or not."

Both of the men let out similar sighs before nodding their heads that they would help. The three of them hurried through the hallways to where Sano told them the lord slept. Before the guards outside the room could make any noise, Midoriko and Toshu had knocked them unconscious with the flats of their swords.

Stepping into the room they were surprised to find the lord still awake at this time of night and starting directly at them.

"Oh, you've escaped Midoriko?" he asked, sounding surprised and annoyed.

"Drop the antics, I can see right through them," Midoriko replied angrily.

"Antics? I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"I know it's you Ukaran."

Toshu and Sano let out cries of surprise as the lord's features suddenly shifted and a different man sat there before them.

"You!?" exclaimed Toshu.

"I suppose I should have known I couldn't fool you for long Midoriko," Ukaran replied, ignoring Toshu.

"What was the point of all this?" Midoriko asked.

"The point? I suppose there wasn't one, I just wanted to see you again, it's been three years since I was last blessed by your presence." Ukaran smirked and let out a small laugh as Midoriko's face darkened.

"You started a small war , involving countless innocent lives, just to see me again?! What, are you too cowardly now to spy on me while I'm bathing?" she cried, glaring with hatred at Ukaran.

"Oh my, was that an invitation?" Ukaran asked, smirking again.

Midoriko blushed. "It most certainly wasn't," she snapped. "I simply was implying that you didn't have to sacrifice an entire demon army along with human lives just to 'see me again'."

"I take it your not happy with me then?"

Midoriko's only response was to point her sword at his face.

"I suppose you'll want to kill me know, huh?"

She started walking forward, her face emotionless, in confirmation of his guess.

Ukaran let out a sigh. "Not that you'll care, but the other reason I did all this was to test your new powers. I knew you had managed to obtain naobi, but I didn't know exactly what that meant. Now after watching you cut through my army with ease I feel that I have a better understanding."

Midoriko had reached the foot of the bed and was about to jump up on it when Ukaran thrust out a hand signaling her to stop. She ignored it and hopped up, standing over him with her sword pointed directly at his heart.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ukaran said as Midoriko suddenly fell to her knees screaming and clutching her forehead. Toshu and Sano both rushed forward, panic evident on both of their faces.

_My mark of naobi, what did he do? Why is it burning like this…._

And then Midoriko realized it wasn't her mark, it was the kiss Ukaran had placed there three years ago.

"You bastard!" yelled Sano as he rushed Ukaran with his sword.

"No, don't!" screamed Midoriko, trying to overcome the pain and thrust out an arm to stop Sano.

Ukaran glanced at the elderly man before contemptuously backhanding him, sending him flying across the room to crash into the wall with a sickening crack.

Letting out a cry of hatred Midoriko blindly swung her sword and felt its tip barely cut into flesh. She heard a small hiss of pain, but could tell she had done hardly any damage.

"Well I suppose I had best be going now, it was nice seeing you again Midoriko, I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

Midoriko let out a sob as Ukaran vanished and she stumbled over to where Sano lay unmoving on the ground. She felt Toshu at her side gently supporting her. When she reached the broken body she cradled the head in her arms and continued to cry, knowing that Sano had been killed instantly.

After a few minutes Toshu gently pulled her away. "Come Midoriko, we have to be going, it's not safe for us to remain here."

Midoriko got to her feet and wiped her face with her sleeve. "We're taking Sano with us, he deserves a proper burial."

Toshu nodded and gently picked the man up in his arms before he followed her out of the room. "I left Kirere in the courtyard, I thought we would be leaving as soon as we rescued you."

They reached the courtyard without running into anyone. When Kirere saw them she ran over and instantly noticed how sad her mistress was. She tried to comfort her by rubbing against her side and gently licking her hand, causing Midoriko to smile slightly and pat her on the head in thanks before jumping up on her back in front of Toshu.

Kirere took off at once and headed directly for the village. Once they arrived, Midoriko and Toshu took Sano's body to the temple and buried his body in the graveyard behind it. When they had completed that task Toshu waved farewell to Midoriko as they each headed home.

As she slowly walked back to where she lived with Enju, Midoriko couldn't stop thinking about how after three years Ukaran had finally made another appearance just as war was starting to break out across the land, and that he had said they would meet again soon.

She was not looking forward to that meeting.

* * *

**End Notes: I've also got the next two chapters written out as well so there will be weekly updates from this point on. There's only two more to write after those ones as well so the story is nearing completion. And please remember to review to let me know what you think of the story.**


	6. Rooftop Meeting

**Author's Note: First off I have to say this is quite possibly my favorite chapter of the entire fic. As soon as the idea for it came to me (in the middle of writing the second chapter actually) I had to stop what I was doing and write it down immediately. It is incredibly short, I know, but I liked it so much more alone then adding it to either the previous or next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko, but I do own both of these characters, even if you don't know who they are, hehe.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Rooftop Meeting**

He lay on the roof, gazing up at the crescent moon and enjoying his sake. He always felt at home during the night, it was his element. Idly he reached down to his side and felt for his sword to reassure himself of its presence. To his surprise it wasn't where he knew he had left it. Sitting up sharply he looked around, there was no way someone could have gotten that close without him noticing, even while he was drinking.

"Looking for this?" A voice asked from his left.

Looking over in that direction he was barely able to make out the outline of a man holding out what he recognized as his sword.

_That's impossible…_

"Surprised? You know it was really quite easy…"

"Speak my name and I swear it will be the last word to ever pass your lips," snarled the man.

The other laughed. "Always the cautious one I see. But you know, your little story didn't fool me. I know who you are… Ikagu."

_What!?_

"How… how do you know that name?" the man asked in shock. "Who… who are you!?"

"Your eyes are wide with fear, you're sweating, I can even clearly hear the fear in your voice. All of a sudden you don't seem so confidant anymore… Do you really dislike the name you used while acting as a bandit so much Ikagu?"

"Stop it! Stop using that name! I am no longer Ikagu!" the man yelled in defiance.

"Hush, you don't want your sleeping wife to hear us and wake up now do you? Oh no, no, no, no, no! That would ruin all the plans you've carefully laid down. We wouldn't want to ruin that now would we?"

"You bastard, who are you?" the man demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," the other replied, feigning remorsefulness. "Unless of course…"

"Unless of course what?" the man asked hesitantly.

"Unless you were willing to do a little…. favor for me. Then maybe… if you succeeded… I would have use of you again and you could learn my name if it's really that important to you."

"And why would I do this… favor… for you?" asked the man, attempting to sound scornful, but knowing he wasn't fooling this… thing.

"Oh, I can think of a _lot_ of reasons why you would."

The tone of his voice sent a shiver of terror down the man's spine. He thought he had conquered fear long ago, thought the things he had done in his life had made him immune to that long forgotten emotion. But what he thought was fear was nothing, _nothing,_ compared to what he felt now.

"But to make things simple I'll use the reason you'll like most."

The other threw something at him and the man caught it before it hit him in the chest. Gently feeling it his eyes widened in surprise.

"I trust that is enough money to tempt even you?"

The man grunted. "What is this favor you would ask of me?"

"Oh it's really rather simple actually. All I want you to do is seduce the Priestess Midoriko, I trust you know her?"

The man stared at the other before letting out a short, loud, laugh. "You ask the impossible, friend. That cold-hearted bitch cares nothing for men, she sees us and disregards us completely."

Before he could understand what had even happened, he found himself with his back pressed against the roof and his sword pressed against his neck with enough pressure to bring out a single drop of blood.

The other leaned over and spoke so softly the man had trouble making out the words. The moonlight illuminated the right side of his face showing a pitch black eye and the small line of a scar running down his cheek. "You made three mistakes there, one more and your head would now be rolling off the roof where your wife would find it in the morning," the other hissed, malice dripping from his voice.

"The first mistake you made was laughing at me. The second was calling me your friend. And your third mistake was scorning my plan," the other explained

If the man had thought he had just rediscovered fear then he had just rediscovered terror right now. Never before in his life had he been as scared as he was at this very moment.

"Take this potion, it contains a spell that will make your task easier." The other explained as if nothing had happened as he set a vial down next to the sake bottle. "When you drink it, it will override her senses and confuse her body, she will be susceptible to your charms. Once her defenses are down, I will strike."

"Be warned, fail me and I will kill you if she doesn't first."

And with that, the other vanished without a trace, leaving the man alone on top of the roof with his sake bottle, a small vial, and a bag of money.

* * *

****

End Note: College is once again proving to be more time consuming then I expected. I haven't had a chance to write the last two chapters yet and I'm not positive when I'll be able to. The good news is I still have one already done so at least one more week, after that it might take a bit longer to update. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it was a bit short but hopefully your looking forward to the next one now!


	7. Seduction

**Author's Note: Just as a warning so it doesn't come as a surprise the later part of this chapter has an almost-rape scene. Nothing major happens, but it is graphic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Midoriko or Enju, the rest are all mine however.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Seduction**

Midoriko woke the next morning to find that Enju was already awake and heating up her kiln as usual. She crawled out of bed and slowly got dressed, thinking over the events of yesterday.

_If only I had realized what was going on sooner, maybe Sano would still be alive now. But no, I can't allow myself to dwell in the past. What's done is done and now Ukaran has yet more reason to die._

"Midoriko, are you feeling alright?" Enju asked as she saw her friend appear in the doorway looking troubled.

"Thanks for your concern Enju, but I'm fine. Just slightly troubled and saddened over what happened yesterday at the castle. I think I'm going to go to the temple to pray for a bit, I'll see you later today."

Enju waved farewell as Midoriko headed down the road to the temple. Lost in thought, Midoriko almost ran right into a strangely familiar man halfway to the temple.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, taking a few steps back.

Looking at him closer she was sure she recognized him from somewhere, his brown hair and black eyes seemed remarkably familiar. She caught herself thinking how handsome he was and took another small step backwards in shock, her cheeks blushing faintly. Part of her noticed that the man seemed to almost be afraid and was clutching a small vial tightly in his right hand.

"Do I… know you?" she asked hesitantly.

Hearing this question a smirk spread across the man's face and all trace of fear vanished as he tucked the vial into a pocket. "I don't think we've met," he replied, "I'm sure I'd never forget the name of a beauty like yourself."

She felt herself blushing even harder as a voice inside her head started screaming that something was wrong.

"Well it was certainly nice to meet you Midoriko. I'd love to stay and chat a bit more, but my wife wanted to go pick flowers in the forest today and I have to go see her off. Take care," he called out over his shoulder as he walked past her.

In a daze, Midoriko slowly wandered back to where she lived, all her thoughts filled with the man she had just met as the voice in the back of her head continued to yell that something was terribly wrong.

She heard someone calling her name repeatedly after a while, and turned to see Enju standing next to her looking extremely worried.

"Midoriko, why are you back already, you only just left. What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothings wrong, I met a man."

"You met a man…" repeated Enju, blinking at her friend in confusion.

"A handsome man," Midoriko added as an afterthought.

"Midoriko," Enju started firmly, "Is this your idea of a joke?"

"A joke? Why would I be joking?"

"You're a priestess, I've never seen you acting like this ever before much less calling a man handsome. Tell me what's wrong, the way your acting is scaring me."

"So just because I'm a priestess means I can't find a man attractive or want him to notice me?" she asked.

'_Yes!"_ screamed the voice in the back of her head as Enju nodded as well. "That's what you've always told me yourself Midoriko. What's caused you to change like this all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm just sick of living a life in solitude, not being able to love and be loved in return, to have someone always there to comfort me when I return from horrible battles like yesterday."

Neither woman noticed it, but the mark on Midoriko's head seemed to flicker in and out of existence as she spoke these words.

"That's not true Midoriko, you have me, Toshu, Kirere, and even Sayo as friends to comfort you when you need it. Your not alone."

"You know that's not the same Enju," Midoriko replied, frowning.

"Well, who is this man?" Enju asked in defeat.

"I don't know his name, but he has brown hair, black eyes, and is about my height, he seemed very familiar but I couldn't figure out why."

"There aren't very many men in the village that meet that description," Enju thought out loud. "And I know that no one new has shown up for a long time, your sure that you don't know who this man is?"

"Nope, and he said that he didn't know me either although… I could have sworn he said my name. I must have just been imagining it though."

"Someone in the village who claimed they didn't know you of all people?" Enju asked in alarm, her eyes wide. "Don't you find this suspicious Midoriko? _Everyone_ in the village knows who you are."

"I… I don't know…" Midoriko replied, blinking in confusion.

Enju let out a deep sigh, "Why don't you go to the temple as you were originally planning, and do some praying, maybe it will help to clear your mind."

Midoriko nodded in agreement before hugging her friend and turning around to head back to the temple., still thinking about the man she had met as the voice in the back of her head tried to fight its way forward.

As the temple came into sight, Midoriko heard someone call out her name and turned to see the same familiar man from earlier. As he drew closer she felt a faint, unfamiliar, fluttering sensation in her stomach.

"I thought you didn't know my name," she stated when he had stopped in front of her, trying to confront him before she forgot.

She saw him frown quickly at this question before he covered it up with another large smile. "Oh, I simply asked around the village. Everyone here seems to know you."

"And yet you didn't?"

"Shhh, none of that matters," he murmured, drawing closer to her then ever before.

As he got closer a strange fog filled Midoriko's mind causing her to completely forget all her questions and worries as she smiled happily back up at him.

"Listen," he went on, "would you like to come over to my place tonight? We could… get to know each other better."

'_No!' _the voice in the back of her head commanded.

"You… you have a wife though."

"She's going to be gone until much later tonight, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Common I promise it will be fun."

"I…"

"Please?" he asked, leaning forward and gently brushing his lips against her cheek.

Midoriko felt her body go limp as his lips touched her, and she heard herself breathlessly answering him. "Sure, sounds like fun."

"Good I'm glad to hear that," he said with a smile. "Come to my house when the sun sets," he continued, pointing one out to their left, "and make sure to wear the kimono my wife gave you for your birthday a few years ago. And tell no one of our plans."

As she watched him walking, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten to ask his name once again. Although she had recognized the house he had pointed out as well as the instructions he had given her.

_The kimono Sayo gave me?_

* * *

Midoriko stood in the doorway of the house she had lived in most of her life. It had been three years since she had last set foot here. Obeying the man's strange orders she had waited until Enju entered her house so that her friend wouldn't notice her. Once inside she stood there for a while, simply looking around as many painful memories returned.

After a while, once she had built up her nerve enough, she finally entered her mother's room. It was exactly the same as it had been three years ago, only with a layer of dust on top of everything now. Averting her eyes from the bed, she quickly walked over to the dressing cabinet and pulled out the kimono before returning to her old room.

As she stood there looking at the flowers, faint words flickered through the back of her head.

_A priestess' robes serve to mark her so that those around her know who she is. For a priestess to don a kimono would be saying that she did not want to be recognized, thus denying her entire life's work._

Ignoring them she quickly stripped off her robes before throwing the kimono around her shoulders. It took her a few minutes to figure out all the knots and how to wear it properly, but after a while she was fairly confidant that she had it on correctly. When she went over to the mirror to check how she looked, the part of her in the back of her head screamed in horror when it noticed that the mark of naobi had vanished.

Not paying it any attention Midoriko sat down on her bed and waited for the sun to set. She contemplated putting on makeup briefly, but realized it would require her to return to her mother's room, which she was unwilling to do.

Once the sun had set, she got to her feet and went to the doorway of the house, making sure that no one was in sight before hurrying to her destination. When the door opened after her light knock she was slightly alarmed by the look in Kokichi's eye as he saw her in the kimono.

"I had been planning on chatting over a glass of wine, but the sight of you in that kimono has driven me crazy with lust. I hope you don't mind if we head directly to the bedroom?" he asked, grabbing her wrist and dragging her into the house before slamming the door closed behind them.

"W… what?" Midoriko stammered as he dragged her through the house until they reached a room with a large, two-person bed.

"I want that kimono off you, now!" Kokichi demanded, looking at her hungrily.

When she hesitated he reached out and grabbed a fistful of cloth at her neck before jerking downwards, shredding the delicate fabric and revealing the skin of her neck. Letting out a small cry of surprise, Midoriko tried to step backwards but realized the bed was right behind her.

Not noticing her attempt to retreat Kokichi grabbed the kimono again and shredded it once more, this time completely ripping the entire thing off, leaving Midoriko standing there in only her shift. He took a deep breath taking the sight of her in before quickly ripping that off of her as well.

Nervous, naked, and with the voice in the back of her head screaming for this to stop, Midoriko simply stood there, her entire body seemingly paralyzed.

"I can see that look in your eyes you whore," Kokichi growled, "You want me don't you?"

Against her will Midoriko let out a low moan. As soon as he heard this Kokichi leaned forward and kissed her roughly on the mouth as his hands found her breasts. As he deepened their kiss, ignoring that fact that she wasn't kissing him back, he rubbed his thumbs in circles over her nipples, causing them to harden in excitement as she started to softly pant into his mouth.

Breaking the kiss on his own he leaned down even farther and took her left nipple into his mouth and sucked on it lightly while continuing to massage her right with his hand. Once more against her will Midoriko let out an even louder moan as her body started to burn, never before had she felt anything like this.

Deciding he had had enough of the foreplay, Kokichi took a step back and roughly shoved her backwards onto the bed where she lay sprawled and panting trying to catch her breath as he pulled his shirt over his head. Unable to resist the sight between her legs he bent down as he worked on taking his pants off and lightly licked her there. Midoriko let out a squeak of surprise as she felt his tongue touch her down there, a single tear leaking from one eye as the voice in the back of her head continued to try and fight what was happening, hoping to regain control of her body.

When he managed to get his pants off, Kokichi stood up and carelessly tossed them next to her before climbing onto the bed and kneeling between her legs. As she saw how large he was, Midoriko let out a cry of fear and tried to back away from him but was prevented when he grabbed her waist.

Seeing that she was afraid, Kokichi leaned down so that they were face to face as he positioned himself to enter her. "I promise this won't hurt… too much, you whore."

And he kissed her on her forehead. Exactly where Ukaran had kissed her so long ago.

As if waking up from a dream Midoriko reached over and grabbed Kokichi's sword from its sheath where it lay right next to her still attached to his pants. As he started to move forward she thrust the sword between them and saw his eyes widen in surprise as the blade cleanly sliced through his stomach. As she lay there panting to catch her breath she was alarmed to hear the faint sound of screams from the village.

Worried, Midoriko hastily rolled Kokichi's corpse off of her and rushed out of the house, still clutching the sword in one hand. Remembering what had happened with her mother, Midoriko didn't even hesitate to dress herself. As she ran past a mirror Midoriko was greatly relieved to notice that the mark of naobi had re-appeared on her head.

When she got outside the house the first thing she noticed was that the village was on fire. Demons were running through the streets and she could see several bodies on the ground. Directly in front of her stood Ukaran. He seemed to have been waiting, and smiled when he saw her. Midoriko noticed a small scar on his right cheek and realized it must have been caused by her sword the other day.

"Ahh, Midoriko, how good to see you again. I'm glad to see the spell seems to have worn off."

"You planned to have him rape me you bastard!" she screamed at him.

"Oh so he didn't succeed then? I'm glad to know you were able to break the spell in time. I'd hate to think of a body as beautiful as yours being defiled by such a pig of a man."

Realizing that she was standing naked in front of Ukaran, Midoriko blushed and covered herself as best she could, not releasing her grip on Kokichi's sword. "You _will_ turn around," she demanded.

To her surprise he actually did. Seeing his back presented to her Midoriko let out a cry of rage and swung at him with her sword. It connected with a barrier and was knocked from her hand.

"Come now Midoriko, calm yourself," he said, still facing away. "Your emotions are interfering with your fighting abilities, you know how to break through a barrier."

Aware that he was speaking the truth, Midoriko took a deep breath and tried her best to calm down.

"You'll pardon me for my abrupt departure but I have the feeling it would not be in my best interest to stick around any longer," Ukaran said before sprouting his wings and flying away.

Knowing that now was not the time to chase after him, Midoriko ran to find Enju and Kirere. As she rushed through the streets she purified all the demons she came across, having left the sword where it had been knocked from her hand in her haste. She screamed when she reached Enju's house.

It had been knocked down and the kiln smashed to pieces. Broken pottery lay strewn about. Under all the rubble Midoriko saw an unmoving hand. She dropped to her knees, ignoring the pain as fired clay cut into her bare flesh, and burst into uncontrollable tears.

After a few minutes, when her tears had dried, Midoriko noticed that part of the rubble was moving slightly. Confused she got to her feet and took a step forward to look more closely and was surprised when Kirere suddenly burst out from under the wreckage.

The cat was cut badly all over and covered in blood, but Midoriko cried out in joy at the sight of her friend and hugged her tightly around the neck. In response Kirere licked her mistress' cheek and purred happily.

"Let's go Kirere," Midoriko said firmly, breaking off her hug and taking a step back. "I want to make sure Toshu is alright as well as explain things to Sayo. We should probably go see her first actually."

Realizing that she was still naked Midoriko went back to her house, which had somehow escaped the fires and retrieved her priestess' robes from her room. Once she was dressed she got on Kirere's back and they flew back to Sayo and Kokichi's house. When hey landed Midoriko saw Sayo standing in the doorway holding Kokichi's sword in her right hand.

"Sayo, I'm glad to see your alright, I was afraid the demons might have gotten you too."

"You killed him," Sayo whispered, almost too softly for Midoriko to hear.

"Sayo, please let me explain, it's not what you think…"

"You bitch! You seduced him and then killed him! I thought you were my friend Midoriko!" Sayo screamed hatefully.

"Sayo, please listen to me. That's not what happened."

"Do you think I'm blind Midoriko? Or am I stupid? My husband is lying on our bed with his guts spilled out and your kimono, the one I gave you for your eighteenth birthday, is lying torn on the floor!" she sobbed hysterically.

"Sayo, I know what it looks like, but you have to trust me when I say that I did not seduce Kokichi. Ukaran had cast some sort of spell on your husband that caused me to lose all of my senses when I saw him. I am truly sorry that you had to get involved in these affairs."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to your pathetic excuses Midoriko," Sayo snarled hatefully. "I just hope you enjoyed whatever you got out of my husband before you murdered him you bitch. Was it exciting to have another woman's husband groping you?"

"Sayo, please!" Midoriko exclaimed angrily.

"I can't stand the sight of you any longer, it sickens me," Sayo continued as she slowly rose the sword she was holding,

Midoriko readied herself to disarm Sayo when she charged her, but was startled to notice that she didn't seem to be moving, Suddenly realizing what she was planning to do, Midoriko jumped forward, trying to reach her in time,

"No Sayo, don't do it!" she screamed as the hysterical woman grabbed the sword with both hands and plunged it into her chest.

Midoriko reached her in time to catch her body before it his the ground, but could tell that she was already too late.

'_Damn you to hell for this Ukaran'_

She gently carried her old friend inside the house and laid her down next to her husband, promising to return soon to bury them after she had made sure that Toshu was alright.

When she reached his house Midoriko was glad to see Toshu standing outside seemingly unharmed. He waved at her when he saw Kirere flying towards him, and she waved back.

"I'm glad to see your alive Midoriko," he said when they landed, "The demons seemed to have killed off almost all the village, I can't believe something like this happened."

"It's my fault, Toshu," Midoriko said sadly, looking down at the ground unable to look at him. "Ukaran tricked me with a spell and waited until my powers had vanished before attacking, that's why so many demons were able to get through my barrier. If I had been more careful none of this would have happened."

"I know you would have done everything in your power to prevent this Midoriko so please don't judge yourself too harshly," Toshu replied in comfort, hugging her with one arm.

"Enju and Sayo are dead as well," Midoriko whispered.

There were a few moments of silence as Toshu took this in. "I'm so sorry to hear that," he responded, a tear leaking down the side of his face. "I'll need to go comfort Kokichi then."

"He's dead too," Midoriko went on, "I killed him after he tried to rape me."

"What?!" exclaimed Toshu in shock, taking a step back and looking at her to see if she was telling the truth.

"It's a long story I don't want to get into now, it was part of Ukaran's trick but I didn't realize that until a little while after I killed him."

"And a fine plan it was too," a voice called out from the roof above them and they both looked up to see Ukaran standing there smiling. "My apologies for interrupting, but I just wanted to warn you that tomorrow morning at dawn my army will be destroying the remains of this pathetic village. I suggest you leave if you want to live." And with that he vanished before they could respond.

"What do you plan to do?" Toshu asked after a moment.

"I'm not running," Midoriko replied immediately. "I'm going to stay here and kill Ukaran if it's the last thing I do, even if I have to kill every demon in his entire army before I get to him. But first I need to go bury the dead, there should be time before the sun rises."

"I help you," Toshu said as he followed her back to the remains of the village.

_This is it_ thought Midoriko. _The final batlle._

**End Note: Oops, sorry about the slight delay on posting, totally spaced it yesterday. Anyways I hope you liked the chapter. In regard to the next one which is the final chapter I'm not positive when I'll have it ready, right now I'm thinking a week from this coming Sunday or so. Again sorry on the delay but college is really kicking my ass right now.**


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